Sweet Little Sixteen
by Whatsername Lambert
Summary: Summer 1956. Kurt Hummel wears leather jackets, loves cars & rolls with a rough crowd. Blaine Anderson is an internationally famous teen heartthrob singing sensation. Both share the same dangerous secret, & after meeting at a concert, they begin a passionate romance that defies the social conventions & values of the time. Title from Chuck Berry's Top 10 hit of the same name.
1. Chapter 1

Since Fix You is almost done, what better to do than to start a brand spankin' new WIP? This first chapter is a little short, because it was originally a drabble on Tumblr, but the next few will be longer. This isn't going to be too long of a story, just something to help me kill time when I have writers block on LiBaM. xD

Originally based off of this gifset: bit. Ly /LoNjoM (delete the spaces in the link)

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1

Kurt supposed he should be used to this by now - spending night after night alone in his room like this - but even so, this little ritual had become his favorite part of the day.

He carefully set the large record in place and adjusted the needle. Soon enough, the sweet tenor voice of Blaine Anderson swelled around him and filled the room.

Kurt fell back on his bed and picked up the record cover, quietly humming along with the music as he allowed himself to stare unabashedly at the picture on the front. Blaine Anderson was devastatingly handsome, with hair that was slicked to perfection and the dreamiest warm hazel eyes Kurt had ever seen. And those _lips_. Don't even get Kurt started on those lips.

Yes, Kurt had a bit of a crush on Blaine Anderson, but the mere thought of anyone finding out nearly destroyed him. He knew what they said about men who were attracted to other men - they were sick, they were abnormal, and they were determined to corrupt little boys all across America. Kurt had no desire whatsoever to do that. He just wanted to look into Blaine Anderson's eyes and feel himself melting as those lips got closer and closer…

Just then the telephone in his room rang shrilly, startling him out of his daydream. Kurt blushed profusely and tossed the record case aside before reaching over to fumble for his phone on the bedside table.

"Hello?"

"Kurt!" The squeal on the other end of the line immediately told him that it was his friend Rachel. "Guess where we're going to be exactly twenty-four hours from now?"

Kurt found it difficult to suppress his own excitement. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe it, Rachel. We're actually going to see him!"

Rachel was the only person in the world who knew about Kurt's secret crush on Blaine Anderson. He'd made her swear on her life that she wouldn't tell a soul, and she'd stayed true to her word. But that didn't mean she didn't help to feed her friend's infatuation - in fact, she'd managed to score tickets for the two of them to see Blaine's concert in town the following evening.

"And that's not all." There was a hidden smile in Rachel's voice. "I heard that if you show up early enough to the concert, we can catch Blaine as he's coming in and get his autograph."

Kurt's heart stopped. The thought of actually _meeting _the object of his desire and looking into those exquisite hazel eyes both terrified and thrilled him at the same time. Still, he was a smart boy, and he knew that this was the kind of opportunity that should not be passed up.

"Rachel, we _have _to go early and meet him. Can you imagine how handsome he must be in person?" He sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl, and he was perfectly aware of that, but he was too happy and excited to care.

"Of course we're going and meeting him, silly. Do you really think I would take you to this concert and not let you meet him?"

Kurt was unbelievably giddy. There was no way he'd be able to sleep tonight. "Okay, so forget what I said yesterday about picking you up at six. Do you think four would be early enough?"

"Four should work," Rachel told him. "Oh my goodness, I _have _to call Tina. Imagine what she'll say when she finds out I'm meeting _Blaine Anderson_!" Kurt could practically see her fluttering her eyelashes and swooning through the phone.

"All right, go call Tina," he told her with an excited little giggle. "I'll see you tomorrow at four."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Kurt placed the phone receiver back in its place and let the biggest smile spread across his face as he let himself float back into his daydream, accompanied by Blaine's silky smooth voice.

Tomorrow was going to be amazing, he knew that much already. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes as he imagined what meeting his crush was going to be like. Except, in Kurt's own personal version of the story, Blaine Anderson liked boys, too.

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Yes, I know, that was short. Like I said, it was a drabble. I'll start working on the next one as soon as I get home from work tonight. :D


	2. Chapter 2

2

Blaine Anderson scanned the crowd waiting for him from where he sat in the backseat of his chauffeured '54 Cadillac Fleetwood. The concert wasn't due to start for another three hours, and there were already hundreds of fans lined up outside the concert hall, every single one of whom had started screaming the instant Blaine's car had pulled up.

"There's so many of them," he commented to David, the young African American man Blaine's father had hired to be his son's chauffeur. William Anderson had been raised in the South, and he still held the old-fashioned belief that blacks were second-class citizens, but Blaine begged to differ. He had actually become quite good friends with David, much to his father's dismay. "I can't believe they all showed up so early."

David laughed. For whatever reason, Blaine still couldn't wrap his mind around his fame and the fact that all these people were here for _him_. "You've got your work cut out for you, daddy-o. Looks like crazy out there."

"My hand's gonna be sore after signing all those autographs," Blaine joked. "Guess I'd better make the scene, huh? They already know I'm here."

"Yeah, that'd be smart," David told him. "I'll park around back."

Blaine took a deep breath, then reached for the handle and pulled the door open. The scream that met his ears once he stepped out of the car was almost deafening. He flinched, then let his face brighten into a smile as he waved to his adoring public. The screams grew even louder, if that were possible.

He made his way down to one end of the line, security officers hovering over him to prevent the fans from tackling him, and began signing the glossy pictures and record albums that were being shoved in his face. Most of the fans gathered here seemed to be girls, which was a good thing, although definitely not what Blaine would have preferred. He'd never once in his life found a girl or a woman attractive; he _had_, however, always been inexplicably drawn toward men. Not a soul on earth knew his secret – not even David, who was the closest thing he had to a best friend in this lonely life of passing countless hours in the recording studio and touring the country.

Blaine wasn't a total recluse, though. He'd watched enough of that newfangled television contraption to know that his attraction toward other men – "homosexuality," they called it, - was sick and perverse. There was one particular public service announcement that he'd seen a few times which talked about "homosexuals" as scathingly as if they were Communists. Blaine always felt sick to his stomach whenever he saw that one.

"Marry me, Blaine!" one girl shrieked into his face as he dashed off his signature onto a black and white 8x10 photograph of his own face. He looked up from signing his name and flashed his dashing smile, which made her swoon and grab onto her friend's arm to hold herself upright.

Sometimes Blaine wished that he could use his fame and visibility to make a public service announcement of his own. _There's nothing wrong with me just because I like other boys_, he would say. _I'm not a pedophile. I want someone to love and to marry and to grow old with, just like anybody else. _But there was no way that would go over well, not as long as his father had anything to do with it.

Blaine remembered coming home from school once, when he was about six or seven years old, and commenting to his parents and his older brother over dinner that he'd seen a pretty boy at school that day. William Anderson had immediately dropped his fork back down onto his plate and leered at his son. _Pretty_? he'd sneered, his face turning red and then purple with rage. _Boys aren't pretty, Blaine. Girls are. _

And then he'd taken Blaine out into the garage and beat him until he was certain that whatever boy-liking virus that had infected his son was dead. Since that day, Blaine had always kept his mouth shut whenever he noticed a boy he found particularly attractive.

He was so distracted as he remembered all this that his signature on a few items looked like nothing more than a poorly made _B _followed by a squiggly line. When he noticed what he was doing, he immediately forced himself to stop thinking and focus on the here, the now, the fans who had come to see him. They deserved more than a sloppy, distracted signature.

He forced himself to smile as he signed a picture for a short, dark-haired girl with a rather large nose, then turned to the next person before he had a chance to see her brown eyes light up with joy. When he looked up to flash a quick smile at the next fan in line, his heart skipped a beat and he froze for a second.

It was a boy – the first male fan he'd run into this afternoon. And not just any boy – this boy was by far the most beautiful human being Blaine had ever seen. His hair had been styled with quite a bit of product, but he wasn't a greaser – instead, he'd sculpted his hairdo into a perfect coif. He had the most gorgeous and expressive eyes, the exact color of which seemed impossible to determine, and his pale skin was flawlessly smooth like porcelain. His lips were parted in surprise, as if he were just as breathless as Blaine had become. They were full and pink and looked impossibly soft. Blaine had never had a stronger urge to kiss someone in his life.

"What's your name?" Blaine heard himself asking. He had not asked any of the other fans what their names were.

"Kurt," the other boy said. "K-U-R-T." His voice was soft and buoyant and unlike anything Blaine had ever heard before.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kurt." He began writing on the glossy photograph that Kurt had been holding. "I'm Blaine."

"I know," Kurt said, then giggled a little bit. The sweet sound was enough to make Blaine weak in the knees.

Blaine handed the picture back to Kurt, whose face lit up into a gorgeous smile. "Thank you."

"No sweat." Blaine gave him a smile and threw in a wink for good measure.

"I'll catch you later," he said, even though he wasn't sure why. Wishful thinking had caused him to put his foot in his mouth. He only had maybe a slight chance of seeing Kurt again if he did another impromptu autograph signing after the show, and even that wasn't a guarantee.

He moved on down the line away from Kurt, but the beautiful boy's face never left his mind.

Kurt, meanwhile, stared at the picture Blaine had signed for him in quiet awe. Rachel waved a hand in front of his face to snap him out of his lovesick reverie.

"He wrote a lot on yours," she said, nodding at Kurt's picture. Next to his own head, Blaine had written _Kurt – Enjoy the show! _before signing his name. "He was definitely eyeballing you, too. Maybe he thinks you're cute."

"Rachel! Shush!" Kurt felt his face turning warm with a blush. He glanced around at the crowd and relaxed a little when he realized that nobody seemed to have heard her. "We're in public," he continued in a hushed whisper. "Anyway, I don't think he likes me like that."

Rachel smiled knowingly. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

Eventually the massive crowd gathered outside began to filter into the concert hall, and the show began. The whole time, Kurt couldn't take his eyes off of Blaine. He figured there was no shame in staring, because everyone else in the place was doing the exact same thing.

What he didn't notice was that for the entire duration of the show, Blaine's eyes were searching the crowd, looking for Kurt.


	3. Chapter 3

These chapters are going to be kind of short, if you haven't noticed already, but the good thing about that is it allows me to update more frequently. Yaaaay. :D

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3

The second the concert was over, Kurt grabbed Rachel's hand and began pulling her out toward the back of the building. Blaine had announced that he would be signing some more autographs on his way out, and it appeared that nearly everyone in the place had had the same idea as Kurt. Rachel rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be dragged through the crowd. She hadn't seen Kurt this happy or excited about anything in a long time and she wanted him to keep smiling for as long as possible.

They managed to get a prime spot right at the front of the line; the only downside was the fact that everyone behind them kept pushing and shoving in an attempt to get closer. Kurt managed to stand his ground, as did Rachel, and when the back doors of the building opened and Blaine appeared, he was understandably accompanied by several local police officers who had been appointed as his security team.

Kurt suddenly found it hard to breathe as Blaine worked his way through the crowd toward him. This time, he thought, he was actually going to say something intelligent to Blaine instead of staring at him like a fool like he had earlier. But as Blaine got closer, Kurt's brain began to short circuit and he couldn't for the life of him remember how to say words.

But he didn't even really have time to think about his own incoherency for very long because suddenly the moment was upon him. Blaine was right there.

"Why, hello, Kurt." Blaine greeted him with the suave smile Kurt had always loved.

"You remembered me," Kurt said, because in all honesty he was surprised that Blaine had.

"Of course I did," Blaine said, and maybe it was a trick of the moonlight but Kurt could have sworn he saw him wink. "A face like yours isn't easy to forget."

Kurt wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but he didn't have very long to think about it before Blaine spoke up again.

"Don't you already have an autograph, Kurt?"

Kurt immediately blushed, hoping against hope that Blaine didn't think he was some kind of obsessive stalker fan.

"So did half these people out here," he pointed out. It was true. Just from glancing around the crowd, he recognized a few familiar faces from the autograph signing before the show.

Blaine nodded slowly. "Touché."

He hesitated for a moment, then snatched the picture Kurt was holding. It was different than the one he'd signed earlier, and Blaine was strangely flattered that Kurt had brought more than one photograph.

"Kurt, I hope this doesn't seem too forward," Blaine said as he wrote, "but I want you to give me a bell, you dig?"

Kurt was still at a loss for words, but he knew he had to say something. After glancing at the picture, on which Blaine had written the phone number of the hotel where he'd be staying, he looked back up at Blaine and did his best to smile coyly. "Will you be out tonight?"

His smile must have had some kind of effect on Blaine, because the singer suddenly had difficulty getting words out. "N-no. I'll be headed back to the hotel after I'm done here and I'll be there for the rest of the night."

Kurt tried to look as innocently enticing as he possibly could. "Well, expect a call, then."

And then, before he could say or do anything that would make Blaine change his mind, he grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her back through the crowd. It would take them a while to drive back, and he had to get home as soon as possible so he could call his dream man.

Blaine, meanwhile, hurried through the rest of the autographs and, with the help of the police officers who had been acting as his security team, finally got to where David had parked the car.

Blaine tumbled into the backseat with his heart racing. He'd never flirted so brazenly with another man before, let alone one as beautiful as Kurt, and the best part was that Kurt seemed to be just as into this as he was.

"Fire up, David," he instructed breathlessly. David was, as usual, waiting in the driver's seat. Blaine had always extended an invitation for him to come in and watch the show, but David usually declined. He preferred to wait in the car and read, joking that there were too many screaming teenagers at these things for his liking. "I'm expecting a call back at the hotel."

David grinned as he stepped on the gas. "You definitely seem like you're on the hook," he observed. "You got yourself a sweetheart, Blaine?"

Blaine's heart skipped a couple beats. "You could say that."

"Aww, that's great." He could hear David's warm smile in his voice. "What's she like?"

Blaine pretended he hadn't heard the question.

"Blaine?" David sounded worried. He repeated his question. "What's she like?"

"Are you writing a book? What's with all the questions?" Blaine snapped out of nowhere. He hadn't meant to express such a sudden outburst, but he was so nervous and anxious that he lashed out without thinking.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a second. When David spoke, there was an apologetic undertone in his voice.

"Gee, I'm sorry, Blaine. Didn't mean to get you all worked up."

Blaine shook his head. "Not your fault. _I'm _sorry. I guess I'm just nervous because I've never really done anything like this and I don't want to screw it up, y'know?"

"I guess," David said with a shrug. "I really am happy for you, man. Let me know how it works out with…whatever her name is."

"Oh, if you only knew…," Blaine murmured under his breath.

David sounded confused. "What?"

"Nothing." It was one of those moments where Blaine wished he could take the words he'd just said and shove them back into his mouth. "I just need you to punch it back to the hotel, okay? Please," he added for good measure.

"Righto," David replied with a nod, and that was the last thing either of them said for the remainder of the drive. Blaine stared out the window at the night sky, with Kurt on his mind the entire time.


	4. Chapter 4

So a few of you guys who left reviews mentioned that you're going to Chris Colfer's book signing in Columbus on July 28. I'll be there too! Maybe we'll see each other there, who knows. :D

Also, I posted this video on Tumblr a few days ago when I originally started this story, but it's actually more relevant to the information in this chapter. This is an actual television PSA about homosexuality from the 1950s. It's extremely offensive and watching it might make you uncomfortable, but it's kind of interesting to see how drastically times have changed. If you think the gay community gets treated unfairly TODAY…well, you're in for a surprise, because at least today most people don't view them as being criminally insane like they did back then.  
bit .ly /AGC2W (delete the spaces)

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4

By the time he was back to his hotel room, Blaine had sufficiently managed to freak himself out.

He never should have flirted with Kurt, and he certainly shouldn't have told Kurt to call him. After pondering the situation some more on the ride back, he'd come to the conclusion that any type of interaction that would support his so-called "mental illness" was not a good idea. His career would be destroyed if anyone were to find out, not to mention the fact that his family would be livid and probably disown him.

Besides, Kurt was too good to be true. A man that beautiful would never have feelings for someone like Blaine. Yes, Kurt had practically flirted right back with him, but Blaine figured he was probably reading way too much into the situation. Kurt had just been trying to be friendly, nothing more.

He found himself both dreading and eagerly awaiting the call at the same time. He figured he would apologize to Kurt and explain himself, beg and plead with him not to tell a soul, and then they would hang up and go on as if the whole thing had never happened.

He practically jumped out of his skin when the telephone rang. After unsuccessfully gulping back a deep breath, he reached for the receiver and pressed it to his ear.

The pleasant voice on the other end belonged to the operator at the front desk. "There's a telephone call for you, Mr. Anderson. He says his name is Kurt Hummel."

Blaine's heart started racing, but all the same he heard himself asking the operator to connect the call.

Seconds later, there it was – Kurt's soft, sweet voice like a caress even through the miles of telephone wire that separated them. "Hello, Blaine."

"Hey, um, Kurt, listen. I'm so sorry about this," Blaine blurted out immediately.

On the other end of the line, Kurt raised one eyebrow in legitimate confusion. "Sorry about what?"

"Having you call me like this," Blaine explained. "I feel awful."

"Don't," Kurt said casually, shrugging even though he knew Blaine couldn't see him. What had started off as a phone call full of excitement to his secret celebrity crush – no doubt a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – was already leaving him with more questions than answers. He was suddenly too confused to be excited. "I wouldn't have called if I hadn't wanted to."

There was silence. Kurt was just starting to wonder if the call had somehow disconnected when Blaine finally spoke.

"No, Kurt, I really do want to apologize to you." His voice was very soft. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable tonight."

Kurt couldn't believe Blaine would even think he had to apologize for anything. "You didn't make me uncomfortable. You're Blaine Anderson, for crying out loud. I don't even know if it would be possible for you to make someone uncomfortable."

He heard Blaine sigh through the phone. "Look, I know everyone likes to think they have me figured out, but there are things about me that nobody knows," he admitted. Kurt wasn't sure why, but he almost sounded scared. "And that's the reason why I did what I did tonight."

Kurt finally allowed himself to say what he'd been thinking all along. "I am so confused."

"Kurt, if I tell you my biggest secret, would you swear on your life not to tell a soul?"

_Of course_, he wanted to say. _Anything for you_. "Sure."

"Promise me," Blaine urged. Suddenly he was no longer the alluring, confident teen heartthrob who had taken the world by storm in the past year – he was a normal, insecure teenage boy, just like Kurt.

Kurt's voice came out sounding embarrassingly quiet. "I promise."

"I, um…," Blaine was stuttering and stammering and Kurt couldn't even believe the direction this call had taken. "I…I like boys."

The entire day up to this point had already been a whirlwind of emotions for Kurt, but these particular words made him forget how to breathe for a few seconds. Blaine was just like him.

"You like boys," he repeated, trying to keep his voice even.

"Yes. I…I find myself attracted to men rather than women," Blaine was speaking quickly as he tried to explain himself. "And you're probably so freaked out right now because of those public service announcements they show on TV. 'Boys Beware the Homosexual' and all that. I just want to let you know I'm not like that. I don't hang around parks and public restrooms to prey on little boys. I—"

"Blaine," Kurt finally said to interrupt.

"Please don't tell anyone," Blaine said weakly.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Kurt said as soothingly as possible, even though his voice was shaking. He began absentmindedly twirling his finger through the coil of the telephone cord to distract himself. "And you don't need to explain it to me, because I'm exactly the same way."

Blaine spoke hesitantly. "You…"

"I like boys, too," Kurt whispered. "I've always been this way. I didn't 'catch' it from anyone else, or whatever it is they say. I always thought…t-there was something wrong with me. I've never told anyone."

"Neither have I," Blaine told him. "Well, I may have made a comment when I was younger about finding some boy cute, but my dad tried to beat it out of me. I haven't said anything about it since."

"I'm so sorry," Kurt said without hesitation. "I can't even imagine…"

"It's no big deal, I guess," Blaine said apologetically. "There's nothing I can do about it now. I guess we've been doing the right thing by keeping it a secret, huh?"

"It's not really a secret anymore. We told each other," Kurt joked, laughing a little bit to lighten the mood.

"I guess that's true," Blaine agreed.

It was silent for a second, which was slightly awkward, but Kurt was thankful for that. It brought him back down to earth.

"I can't believe this," he said incredulously after a moment. "I mean…not only am I actually talking to you on the phone, but you have the same big secret as I do."

"Not everyone is what they seem," Blaine told him. He paused for a second and when he continued, there was an undertone of longing in his voice.

"Kurt, I…I want to see you again. We don't have to meet up or anything if you don't want to, but I thought I'd put the offer out there."

Kurt's response was immediate and breathless. "How long are you in town?"

"Three more days," Blaine replied. "I have a few days off from touring, and I told my driver I just wanted to stay here. I'm exhausted. I don't feel like traveling to the next city yet."

Kurt did a mental run-through of his agenda for the next three days. Thankfully it was summer vacation, which meant that free time was abundant – but even so, he was more than willing to cancel any plans he had previously made in order to spend time with Blaine.

"I had plans to go bowling with some friends tomorrow, but I can get out of it. You and I can do something on our own, maybe just go to the diner and get milkshakes or something. Two guy friends can go hang out at the diner together without it looking weird, right?"

"Kurt, you don't have to cancel your plans just to spend time with me," Blaine protested. "Go bowling with your friends. I was just thinking, y'know, since we kind of have this mutual secret in common, it might be nice to spend some time together while I'm in town. I've never met anyone else before who...y'know..."

"Oh, no, it's really fine," Kurt insisted. "I know the perfect place. It's nice and cozy, small enough that you won't have to worry about getting mobbed by crazy fans."

Blaine's heart was sufficiently touched. Maybe he was crazy, but it almost seemed like Kurt was trying to protect him.

"That sounds perfect," he agreed. "I won't put any gel in my hair. It's naturally curly, so it'll be hard for people to recognize me." He laughed.

"Hey, whatever it takes," Kurt agreed with a smile.

The two of them made plans to get together the next afternoon. When they finally hung up, Kurt's heart was beating faster than it had ever beat before.

He wasn't exactly sure what had happened in the past few hours; all he knew that if it was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. Even so, despite the thrill he felt in his heart at the thought of spending more time with Blaine, he didn't want to think about what would happen if anyone found out their secret.


	5. Chapter 5

Awkwardly updating a few days late because LiBaM and my job have basically been my life recently. :P but this chapter is super long compared to the others so far. YAAAAY.

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5

The next evening, Kurt drove his father's '49 Crestliner to the hotel where Blaine was staying, heart pounding wildly the entire time. He knew that this was essentially a date, but he wouldn't let himself think of it that way. He was just trying to be polite and give Blaine the chance to hang out with someone his own age instead of sitting in his hotel room for the rest of the time he'd be in town. Besides, just because Blaine was attracted to boys didn't necessarily mean he was attracted to Kurt. This would be a friendly encounter, nothing more.

When he arrived at the hotel, he parked the car and headed inside, where he told the receptionist at the desk his name and that he was here for Blaine Anderson. The receptionist, a blonde twentysomething woman, understandably looked wary of the fact that some random teenager like Kurt needed to meet with the biggest teen heartthrob in the country. She picked up a telephone receiver and turned the rotary dial around a few times.

"Yes, Mr. Anderson, you have a guest waiting for you in the lobby." She paused while Blaine said something that Kurt couldn't hear, then something changed in her expression. "Why, yes. That's him." There was another pause, then she nodded. "All right, Mr. Anderson. I'll let him know."

She hung up the phone and turned to Kurt. "He's on his way down from his room. He shouldn't be long. You're welcome to have a seat."

Kurt thanked her and wandered over to the cozy sitting area in the corner of the lobby. He had barely been sitting in a floral-patterned armchair for thirty seconds when the silver doors of the elevator swooped open and out stepped Blaine.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. Talking to Blaine on the phone last night, as surreal as it was, had been relatively easy because at least he hadn't actually been able to _see _Blaine. The second the singer stepped out of the elevator, though, Kurt realized that Blaine's remarkable dapperness was going to be a huge distraction over the course of the next few hours or so. He was dressed rather simply, in a blue plaid shirt and khakis. Just as he'd promised, his hair was devoid of gel.

"You don't have to have any security with you?" was Kurt's intelligent greeting, because after recovering from how incredible Blaine looked, he'd eventually noticed that the singer was unaccompanied.

"Nah." Blaine shook his head. "You said we're just going to a little diner, right? Not too crowded? I trust you."

He winked. Kurt tried his hardest not to swoon.

It only took about ten minutes for Kurt to drive the two of them to the diner. On the way, he raved about the milkshakes and promised Blaine they would be the best he'd ever had. Blaine admitted that it had been a while since he'd had a good milkshake, or even a good meal in general, because large windows of free time like this came few and far between while he was touring.

"I can't imagine what that must be like," Kurt mused as he drove. "Being on the road all the time...it sounds like it would be amazing, but I think I'd miss my dad."

"I don't miss mine," Blaine commented casually.

This honestly came as a surprise to Kurt. "You don't? But you've been gone from home for such a long time..."

"I know," Blaine said, shrugging it off. "My old man's a racist, ignorant asshole. I like being away from home."

Kurt paused to think for a second. "What about your mother?"

"She's praying for me," Blaine said, as if it were rather unimportant to him. "She wants me to repent from my 'sin.' I haven't even said a word to her about liking boys since I was maybe seven years old, but she's still holding onto it."

Kurt couldn't imagine what that must be like. Neither he nor his father was particularly religious; he couldn't understand what it would be like to grow up with a parent so intent on praying away some aspect of their child.

"Don't you have a brother?" he asked after another relatively short silence, recalling an article he'd read about Blaine in a magazine once.

"Cooper let himself go a few years ago," Blaine said. "He moved out to Hollywood to be a big star and we haven't heard from him since. I don't really think his plan's been working out so well."

It all seemed so strange to Kurt. Blaine's family had all the basic parts - mother, father, sibling - and yet the whole situation seemed so distant and cold. Kurt, on the other hand, had a relatively small family; it had just been him and his father for years now, but they shared a bond that Kurt had always treasured.

"What about you?" Blaine asked. "What's your family like? For your sake, I hope it's better than mine."

"My mom died when I was eight. It's been me and my dad ever since then," Kurt told him. "He and I get along pretty well most of the time. He's a good guy."

"Oh, Kurt, that's awful about your mom." Blaine sounded genuinely sad for him. "I'm so sorry about that."

"I'm sorry too," Kurt said, trying to keep his voice even. "For you, I mean. No family should have to be like that."

He pulled into the parking lot of the local diner and maneuvered into a spot right along the outside of the building. Neither of them moved to get out of the car; instead, Kurt turned toward Blaine and looked right into those hazel eyes he'd always dreamed about.

"But let's leave all that drama out here, okay? Let's go inside and I'll buy you the best damn shake you've ever had in your life. You need to be a teenager, Blaine. I feel like you haven't really had the opportunity to do that."

As they got out of the car and made their way inside, Blaine realized that he was right.

It turned out that Kurt was also right about the fact that they would have quite a bit of privacy, because there were only about four or five other people in the diner, all of them huddled in booths. Blaine waited hesitantly in the doorway for a second. Kurt eventually noticed and turned around after taking a few steps, grabbing Blaine by the arm and gently leading him inside.

"It'll be fine. Come on," Kurt whispered encouragingly with a little smile, and there was no way Blaine could refuse that so he allowed himself to be led to a stool at the counter.

"Hey, Helen," Kurt called to the waitress behind the counter as he slid onto the stool beside Blaine.

She immediately turned around at the sound of Kurt's distinctive voice.

"Hey yourself, Kurt." It was clear as day from the coy playfulness in Helen the Waitress's voice that she had a little crush on Kurt. Blaine had to suppress a laugh. If she only knew.

Her gaze flickered over to Blaine and a smile grew on her face. "I've seen you before. I know I have. I just can't think of who you are."

Blaine knew that leaving the gel out of his hair had been a good idea. He gave her a small, modest smile instead of the dazzling grin he usually bestowed on fans. "I'm just a good friend of Kurt's."

Kurt had to try to keep his cool and not start hyperventilating right then and there when Blaine referred to the two of them as "friends." He decided to end the conversation and get Blaine drinking one of those fantastic milkshakes he'd promised him.

"Two chocolate shakes, extra whipped cream. Please." He smiled, sliding the proper payment across the counter toward her.

Helen rolled her eyes, smiling as she took the money off the counter and turned toward the cash register. "I _know_, Kurt. You get the same thing every time."

"My friends and I come here all the time," Kurt explained to Blaine as Helen started filling their orders. "It's still a little early, that's why this place is kinda empty. It fills up more as the night goes on."

A few seconds later, Helen slid both chocolate milkshakes across the counter toward where they were sitting. Kurt passed one to Blaine, barely glancing up at Helen as he thanked her.

Helen turned to start cleaning some things on the other side of the counter, so Blaine relaxed a little bit. He took a sip from his straw and practically moaned.

"Told you so," Kurt giggled.

"Where has this _been _all my life?" Blaine asked, taking another sip.

"Right here," Kurt remarked sarcastically. "This place has been around for years."

"I know, and I've never been to Ohio on t-…I've never been to Ohio." Blaine had to stop himself from saying _on tour_, lest Helen the Waitress overhear and get suspicious. She already vaguely recognized him and he preferred to keep it just like that – as vague as possible.

But the chances of recognition only increased when the little bell above the door jingled as a group of teenagers walked in. Kurt saw Blaine tense up out of the corner of his eye as they all gathered around the counter just a few yards away. He thought he recognized some of them from school, but he wasn't so familiar with them that he knew any of their names. Helen turned around and greeted them cheerfully; they started making small talk with her instead of ordering drinks. For the time being, none of them even seemed to notice Kurt and Blaine.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked, his voice low enough to the point that only Blaine would be able to hear.

Blaine nodded. "I'm fine," he said, but he took a long slurp of his milkshake after that to avoid having to say anything else.

"We can leave," Kurt suggested. "We don't have to stay here." He could tell Blaine was extremely nervous about being recognized, especially now that several teenagers were sitting just down the counter from them.

"No." Blaine shook his head, then repeated what he'd said just a few seconds earlier. "I'm fine."

Just then, one of the girls in the group that had just arrived stood up from her stool at the counter and flounced over to the jukebox in the corner of the room. Kurt saw her insert a few coins into the machine; a few seconds later, the opening few notes of Blaine's most recent hit single started blaring through the room.

"Oh, god." Blaine hunched over in his stool and made a futile effort to hide his face as his own voice filled the diner. "This isn't happening. Please tell me this isn't happening."

Without even thinking, Kurt jumped up from his seat and pulled on Blaine's arm to drag him along. Blaine instinctively followed, knowing that he could be spotted at any second, thankful that he'd at least managed to finish his amazing milkshake. He tried not to make eye contact with anybody as Kurt pulled him out of the diner, and he didn't breathe until they had safely made it out into the warm summer evening.

He looked at Kurt in quiet awe. This amazing boy had gotten him out of a potentially crazy situation, and they barely even knew each other. Kurt looked back at him for a second, but his face turned red with the most adorable blush Blaine had ever seen and he ducked his head as he turned toward the car.

"Come on. We should cut out."

Blaine quietly got into the passenger seat and spoke quietly as Kurt started the car. "Hey, um, I'm sorry for making you leave."

"You didn't make me leave," Kurt told him with a strange undertone of nonchalance, as if it had been no big deal. Really, though, he was pretty much Blaine's hero at this point. "I wanted you to be able to enjoy a normal night as a teenager. Well, as close to normal as possible. Normal teenagers don't get mobbed by fans at diners. I just wanted to avoid that situation."

Blaine laughed breathlessly in disbelief. "That was very sweet of you. Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt's heart was pounding wildly by this point, both from the adrenaline of their hasty escape and because he was with _Blaine_, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"No problem," he said. "I'm just sorry it couldn't have lasted longer."

"It still can," Blaine pointed out. "We can still go somewhere else."

"People are going to recognize you anywhere we go," Kurt told him. "I want you to be able to have fun, too."

He was biting his lip and frowning a little bit and those beautiful eyes were wide as he focused on the road. Suddenly Blaine couldn't help what he blurted out next.

"You're so adorable."

Kurt immediately whipped his head around to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"Shit, Kurt, stop!" Blaine shouted, directing Kurt's attention back to the road and, apparently, a red light he'd almost run through.

Kurt slammed on the brakes just in time and exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "God, sorry about that."

He turned to Blaine with a hopeful smile on his face after taking a few seconds to collect himself. "You really think so?"

Blaine nodded, suddenly unable to meet Kurt's eyes. "Sorry if that was out of line. I've never…I've never really told another boy that I'm attracted to him before." He blushed profusely, thankful that Kurt was looking at the road as he drove. "But there you have it, I guess. I happen to find myself very much attracted to you, Kurt Hummel."

"I've never done that, either," Kurt admitted. His voice was shaky; there was no way he would ever believe this was happening. His hands were sweaty on the wood of the steering wheel. "B-but I'll do it now."

It took every single ounce of his concentration to focus on the road ahead of him. He wasn't even sure where he was going; he just kept on driving and spoke carefully.

"Blaine, I've only known you for a day, but up until yesterday I would put one of your records on every single night and fall asleep to the sound of your voice. I would dream about looking into your eyes…and h-holding you…and ki-…and kissing you."

He slowed down to stop at another upcoming red light, thankful for the opportunity to stop driving for a few seconds because he wasn't quite sure what was happening right now.

"Is that bad?" he continued brokenly. "That I want to…do that? With you? Or am I sick in the head, like those television advertisements say?"

The light turned green after a few more silent seconds. Kurt proceeded through the intersection and Blaine finally spoke.

"If you're sick in the head for wanting to do that with me," he said slowly, "then _I'm _sick in the head for wanting to do it with _you_. I don't care if it's wrong. I just know that this is how I feel and I would give anything to be able to act on it."

It was all suddenly clear to Kurt. This wasn't real, this was some kind of amazing dream, and he would soon wake up in his bed at his house with Blaine Anderson back to being nothing but the gorgeous face on the front of his records. Still, he decided, he was going to take full advantage of this fantastic dream until he woke up.

He let a smile slowly grow across his face. "You still up for staying out?"

"Absolutely," Blaine told him.

"Good," Kurt said. "I know just the place we can go."

* * *

Reviews are very much equivalent to love.


	6. Chapter 6

Hellooooo. I guess these chapters just keep getting longer. xD Also, I made a whole little post on Tumblr about this fic which kind of goes into more detail about the setting and the characters, if you want to check it out. :) bit . ly / MJEc1a (delete the spaces)

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6

Half an hour later, Kurt was pulling into a spot at the drive-in movie theater across town just in time for the nightly feature to start showing.

"I know this is pretty much the most cliché teenage date place ever," Kurt said quietly. "It was the only place I could really think of where we could kind of have some privacy."

"This is a date?" Blaine asked hopefully, because he kind of loved the idea of that. He'd never been out on an actual date.

Kurt looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "It is if you wanted to be."

Blaine pretended to watch the beginning of the movie for about thirty seconds, then looked at Kurt and spoke carefully.

"Can we go out again tomorrow night?" he asked. "You've been so generous tonight, Kurt. I want to treat you."

Kurt pretended to consider this so as not to seem obnoxiously eager. Really, though, he knew he would never pass up another opportunity to spend more time with Blaine.

"I'd like that," he said. "We have to be careful, though."

"Kurt, I don't care if anyone recognizes me," Blaine told him, looking straight into those impossibly beautiful eyes. "I just want to be with you."

Kurt blinked and suddenly found himself unable to hold back a smile. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"Oh, there's more where that came from," Blaine teased. "Ever since coming into the public eye, I've learned how to be quite the smooth talker."

He moved across the front seat a few inches, scooting just the tiniest bit closer to Kurt. Kurt's breath caught in his throat and he tried to focus on remembering how to breathe.

"Really," he said, his voice low and (he hoped) seductive. "I can talk pretty smooth myself."

Blaine's heart was racing. He looked into Kurt's eyes, dark and smoldering with lust.

"Prove it," he challenged in a whisper.

In a brazen display of affection that Kurt never would have envisioned himself taking just twenty-four hours ago, he reached up and touched the side of Blaine's face. His fingers curled around the other boy's strong jawline and it took all his strength to keep cool when he realized that Blaine was melting into his touch.

"You are my teenage dream, Blaine Anderson," Kurt murmured. "You have no idea what you do to me."

He reached up and pulled his hand gently through Blaine's soft curls. Blaine's eyes were half closed and his lips were parted and, in all the time Kurt had spent dreaming about him, he had never looked more beautiful. The glow of the movie screen beyond the windshield lit up his features in the most astonishing way and Kurt found it hard to breathe for a second.

He leaned in just a little bit closer - so close that the tips of their noses were touching. Their eyes met and their gaze remained locked for a second, then suddenly Blaine pulled away.

"We can't do this. Not now."

Kurt tried his hardest not to look hurt even as he said, "Why not?"

"Look at all those cars." Blaine gestured out the windshield to the multitude of cars facing the movie screen. "There are _people _in every single one of those cars. What if we get caught?"

Kurt had to laugh at Blaine's naiveté. "Blaine, I know you haven't really gotten a chance to experience normal teenage life, but let me tell you something. I'll bet that there are some wild games of backseat bingo going on in at least half of these cars. Probably more. You think teenagers honestly come here to the passion pit just to watch movies?"

"But think about the couples in all those cars," Blaine protested. "One boy, one girl. It wouldn't be considered taboo if they got caught making out, but if _we _did…"

Kurt slowly let all of this sink in. There was no telling what could happen if he got caught kissing another boy in such a public venue.

"Good point," he said after considering all of what Blaine had said.

"Kurt, I want to kiss you. Believe me, I do." Blaine was looking into his eyes, pleading with him, and Kurt wondered for the millionth time how he'd gotten to be so lucky. "I just…I want it to be special. Not that this isn't special…I mean, I want it to be somewhere that we have no chance of getting caught."

Kurt nodded. "Okay," he whispered. He hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke again, looking straight into Blaine's eye even though doing so was remarkably difficult. "And, um…if you haven't figured it out yet…I want to kiss you, too."

Blaine smiled at Kurt and had the pleasure of watching the other boy tremble a little bit. He'd never seen anyone like Kurt, who could look stunningly handsome in a black leather jacket and somehow manage to be the cutest, most adorable boy on the planet at the same time. He was pouting a little bit; Blaine brought one hand up and traced Kurt's protruding bottom lip with his thumb.

_So _soft. Soft and pink and probably delicious. Blaine couldn't wait to kiss those lips and taste for himself.

"Good things come to those who wait," he whispered, both as a reminder to Kurt and to himself.

Kurt was still looking straight into his eyes. Blaine placed one hand on the side of his face, silently marveling at how soft his skin was before he continued speaking.

"I have to admit, I've never done this before," he admitted.

"Never done what before?" Kurt asked.

"Acted on my feelings for another boy," Blaine said, "much less one who feels the same for me as I do for him. I still can't believe this is happening."

Kurt laughed. The sound was music to Blaine's ears.

"Neither can I," he said, gently taking Blaine's hand off the side of his face and bringing it to his lips so he could kiss his fingers. "But I'm holding you to that kiss."

"I'm a man of my word," Blaine swore to him, and Kurt thought he might just burst with excitement. _I am going to kiss Blaine Anderson at some point_.

They snuggled into each other in comfortable silence and watched the movie. At one point Kurt was getting uncomfortably warm so he took off his leather jacket, tossing it unceremoniously into the backseat before cuddling up with Blaine again. In a strange way, being short one layer of clothing – even if it was just a jacket – made the situation even more intimate. He had nothing on beneath the jacket except a tight-fitting white t-shirt, and he loved the way Blaine was taking advantage of his newly exposed skin to trace his fingers absentmindedly up and down his bicep to his forearm.

It was the very first time Kurt had ever been this close to another boy, and he finally felt like something he'd been missing his whole life had finally fallen into place. Blaine was no longer Blaine Anderson, superstar extraordinaire – instead, he was an amazing, beautiful boy and Kurt's dirty little secret. As much as he wanted to go and shout the news about himself and Blaine to the world, he knew he had to keep it a secret – and in a way, that just made the whole thing even more romantic.

When the movie finally ended and the final credits started rolling across the screen, Kurt reluctantly pulled away from Blaine and smiled ruefully. "Guess that means it's time to get out of here."

As it turned out, 'getting out of there' took quite a while. Kurt knew he should have expected this – since every car from the audience was trying to leave at the same time – but tonight it only made him more anxious. All he wanted was to be alone with Blaine – something which proved extremely difficult when surrounded by other honking cars.

Mercifully, the drive back to Blaine's hotel wasn't very long. Kurt parked the car and, after sharing a wordless glance with Blaine, both of them got out of the car and headed inside.

It was so late that even the receptionist at the desk had gone home. They silently made their way to the elevator, only to realize that the elevator operator had also left for the evening. Blaine shrugged and pushed the button; a few seconds later, the doors slid open and they stepped inside.

Blaine pushed the button for his floor and the elevator doors slid shut again, enclosing the two of them inside alone. He was hyperaware of Kurt's proximity and wondered if the other boy could hear just how wildly his heart was pounding.

When the elevator emptied the two of them out onto Blaine's floor, he quickly glanced around before taking Kurt's hand and leading him down the hall. Kurt seemed taken aback at first, but after a second he was the one who laced his fingers into the spaces between Blaine's to intertwine their hands.

Blaine reluctantly pulled his hand away from Kurt's once they made it to his room so that he could unlock the door. This time, Kurt was the one who stole a glance around the hallway to make sure nobody was watching them before following Blaine inside.

Everything about this was so wrong, but it didn't feel that way to either of them. Once the door was closed behind them, Kurt flipped on the nearest light switch and moved into Blaine's awaiting arms, finally feeling truly secure for the first time all evening.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Kurt," Blaine said. His voice was soft, even though they were the only two people in the room. "Thank you."

Kurt shook his head and smiled. "Thank _you_. I…I have to admit, it's still pretty crazy to believe that all of this is happening to me."

Blaine put one hand gently on the side of Kurt's face. "Will this help you to believe it?"

His eyes remained fixated on Kurt's for just a second longer, then they fluttered closed and his face inched closer and closer. It seemed to happen in slow motion, but probably only took less than a second for Blaine's lips to land on Kurt's with the most gentle touch.

Kurt's eyes flew open in shock for a second upon impact, but he finally let them fall closed as he relaxed into the motion of their lips. It was his very first kiss and he couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. Blaine's lips felt and tasted even better than Kurt had ever dreamed, and the sensation of their caress against Kurt's own mouth was nothing short of electrifying. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist to pull him closer. There was absolutely nothing he would change about this moment.

The kiss only lasted for a few seconds before they broke away. When they did, Blaine was looking at Kurt with so much affection and tenderness that Kurt wanted to cry, but he blinked to hold back his tears.

"That was my first kiss," he admitted in a whisper, but he could feel an inexplicably large smile spread across his face.

"Mine too," Blaine told him. "And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

"T-that was your first?" Kurt asked in disbelief, and Blaine nodded. Even if Blaine wasn't attracted to girls, Kurt still thought he might have gone out on a few dates to appease his parents or something of the like.

Kurt pulled Blaine even closer to him and wrapped him in a proper embrace. "Oh, Blaine, this is too fantastic to be real."

"Believe me, I know," Blaine said. He rubbed his hands up and down Kurt's gorgeously muscular arms – Blaine was so glad he'd taken off his jacket about midway through their date, because Kurt's arms were so strong and defined and they made Blaine wonder what the rest of his body looked like.

(If the chest muscles visible through Kurt's deliciously tight white t-shirt were any indication, Blaine thought, it was probably pretty wonderful.)

"This is our little secret," Kurt murmured. "Nobody has to know. Nobody _can _know."

"Just us," Blaine affirmed quietly, and Kurt expressed his agreement by giving him another small, sweet kiss on the lips.

"When will I see you again?" Kurt asked when they broke away. "Tomorrow night?"

"As long as you still want to," Blaine said. "I'm only in town for one more night after tomorrow."

"Of course I want to see you," Kurt said softly. The tender look in his eyes was almost too much for Blaine to bear. "We need to make this last."

Blaine reached over onto the desk and grabbed a piece of hotel stationery and a pen.

"Write down your number," he told Kurt. "I'll call you to set up plans for tomorrow…and that way I'll have it so I can call you even after I leave town."

Kurt's eyes lit up as he took the pen and notepad. "You want to…?"

Blaine nodded. "I want to stay in touch with you. I know maybe it seems like we're rushing things, since we've only known each other for, what, a day? But…I really like you, Kurt. And I'm up for continuing this secret romance or whatever it is for as long as we possibly can."

"Oh, no, I definitely want to continue it," Kurt reassured him with a smile. "I just still can't believe all of this was happening. Two nights ago I was alone in my bedroom, listening to your record and wondering what it would be like if you were mine."

Blaine placed his hand on Kurt's waist. "I'm yours," he swore. "As long as you want me."

"Then I guess you're stuck with me," Kurt said with a smile, leaning in to kiss Blaine again. Everything about this seemed so easy and natural and he was utterly confused as to why the rest of society considered it such an abomination. Well, he thought, it was their loss. He was perfectly content to have Blaine all to himself like this.

Suddenly Kurt remembered something and abruptly broke the kiss. His eyes scanned the room for a clock and he finally spotted one on the far wall. It was past one in the morning.

"Oh, shit, I'm past my curfew." He slipped the note he'd written with his phone number into Blaine's hand. "I need to get going. Give me a bell, okay?"

Blaine nodded. "Of course."

He pulled Kurt into one more lingering kiss before he could get too far. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Kurt promised, and then he opened the door and was gone, out into the real world where people would be appalled if they had found out what had just happened between Kurt and Blaine. It really wasn't much – just a few innocent kisses – but Blaine would never understand why people had such a problem with it. He wasn't actively hurting anyone else; he was merely acting upon his feelings for a boy who miraculously returned said feelings.

He unfolded the piece of paper and smiled as he read it. Underneath his phone number, Kurt had also written a flirtatious little note.

_Call me anytime, handsome. I'll miss those sweet lips while you're gone on the rest of your tour. ;)  
Until tomorrow… -Kurt xo _

Blaine knew it was stupid, but he slept with Kurt's note under his pillow that night. It was the best night's sleep he'd had in a long time. 


	7. Chapter 7

7

"Are you coming with me to the garage this afternoon?"

Kurt suddenly glanced up from the book he had been pretending to read when he heard his father's voice. Burt Hummel was standing in the kitchen doorway, waiting for his son to answer.

Kurt sighed. "I guess I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

Now, don't get Kurt wrong – he usually loved helping out in his father's auto shop, but not today. Today he just wanted to sit around the house daydreaming until Blaine called, which had yet to happen. And since he'd missed his curfew the previous night, he was doing everything possible to get back in his father's good graces.

He would have been more than happy to go to the shop and help Burt out, but doing so would involve leaving the house, which he couldn't do until Blaine called. Kurt wasn't completely sure what to do.

"Kurt, if you want to go out tonight, you need to do something productive. You can't just be sitting around doing nothing. It's bad enough you were late coming home last night."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I said I was sorry, Dad. I promise I'll never be late ever again."

Burt nodded. "I trust you, Kurt," he said, "but you _will _be grounded if that ever happens again. Now are you coming to the garage with me or not?"

Kurt thought silently to himself and made a snap decision.

"You head on down there and I'll come in a few minutes," he said. Burt's garage was just down the street from their house, close enough that Kurt could easily walk there. "I need to…I'm just going to call my date and confirm our plans for tonight." He was immediately proud of himself for being able to come up with a statement that was completely devoid of gender-specific pronouns on the spot.

"All right, but hurry up," Burt agreed. "By the way, do you think I'll ever get to meet this girl?"

Kurt was taken aback for a few seconds, but then he realized that it was only natural for his father to assume that his "date" for the evening was female. He decided to work his way around the question.

"Isn't that moving a little fast?" he asked warily. "This is only going to be our second date, Dad. Normally the whole meeting-the-parents thing doesn't happen until you're officially going steady with someone. We'll see how serious things get."

Burt seemed to accept this, much to Kurt's immense relief. The second his father was out the door and on his way down to the garage, he immediately raced upstairs to his bedroom to find where he'd written Blaine's temporary phone number down.

The entire time he dialed, his heart was racing. He'd heard his friends from school talking about their dating lives for quite a while now, and now Kurt knew exactly what they meant when they'd said they got butterflies hours before a big date or they couldn't stop smiling when they thought about their significant other. Granted, he couldn't exactly share his own experience in too much detail with his friends, given that his date was another boy, but it felt nice to finally be able to experience the anxious bliss that seemingly every other teenager on the planet got to feel.

When his call was finally connected to the hotel, he breathlessly told the operator that he was calling for Blaine Anderson. It only took about thirty seconds for his call to be transferred to Blaine, but it may as well have been a lifetime. Even so, Kurt practically melted when he heard Blaine's voice for the first time all day.

"Well hello, Kurt Hummel. I was just getting ready to call _you_."

Kurt giggled, his heart immediately warm with affection. "Hello yourself, Blaine Anderson. I'll be damned if you and me both don't have some excellent timing when it comes to phone calls."

He could tell Blaine was smiling just from the sound of his voice and the way he laughed a little bit as he spoke again. "I have to admit, Kurt, hearing your voice right now has been the best part of my day."

"Aww, really?" Kurt allowed himself to smile, but it took all his strength not to swoon. "I can say the same for me with you."

"I just can't wait to see you," Blaine confessed breathlessly. There was something in his words that made Kurt's heart skip a beat or two or five. "Last night was _amazing_. You were right…I really don't know what it's like to be a teenager. I got my first record deal when I was thirteen and I had to grow up way too fast. But when I'm with you, I finally feel young again. I feel the way teenagers are _supposed _to feel. Does that make any sense, or am I just blabbering too much?"

He let out a resigned sigh and spoke again without waiting for Kurt to answer. "Sorry about all that," he said apologetically. "I just…I'm really glad I met you, Kurt."

"I'm glad I met you, too," Kurt said softly. "I mean, aside from the obvious fact that I've had a secret crush on you for the longest time…I'm glad I met you because you…you're everything I've been looking for, superstar or not."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Now Blaine probably thought he was some insane psycho stalker fan.

He tried to soften the intensity a little bit and lighten the mood. "Sorry if that sounds really deep and personal," he said with a shy little giggle. "I just really like you, I guess."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Blaine reassured him with an undertone of affection that made Kurt melt. "I really like you, too. And I know exactly how you feel. All my life I've been trying to keep these feelings to myself and secretly dreaming about what it would be like to meet a boy just like you."

He laughed a little bit and the sound was like music to Kurt. "Anyway. Back to the real point of this call…I was wondering if you'd be okay with heading out tonight around six thirty?"

Kurt glanced at the clock. It was barely a quarter to two. As far away as six thirty seemed, he liked the thought of getting together then because it would give him a few hours to help his father at the garage before coming home to get ready.

"Sure, that would be great," Kurt told him breathlessly. "I'm going to be helping my dad at his auto shop for a few hours this afternoon. Trying to get back on his good side since I missed curfew last night."

Blaine was silent for a second. Kurt was about to ask if everything was all right, but just as he was about to do so, Blaine spoke.

"Okay, I know I should do the right thing and apologize for keeping you out late," he said carefully, "but…you work on cars?"

"Yeah." Kurt shrugged, even though he knew Blaine couldn't see. "I've been helping my dad at his garage ever since I could stand up. Why?"

There was another brief hesitation before Blaine spoke. This time, his tone was dismissive. "Oh, don't sweat it. I probably shouldn't describe some of the mental images I have right now."

Kurt had forgotten all about the fact that he was actually probably supposed to be at Burt's shop at that exact moment. His voice was low as he asked, "Well, why not?"

"They're not very appropriate," Blaine said with a casual little chuckle. "Anyway, I know you have to get going so you can help your dad. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

"Oh, Blaine Anderson, you are crusin' for a bruisin' if you don't tell me what's on your mind," Kurt threatened playfully. "I want to know about these _inappropriate _mental images that you have."

His face was impossibly red, but he couldn't help smiling. Even _talking _like this with Blaine made him fell more youthful and free than he ever had before. Just a few days ago he never would have been able to _imagine _flirtatiously asking another boy to share his dirty thoughts. With Blaine, it was different. It only seemed natural to playfully tease and flirt with Blaine like this, just like any boy-girl couple their age would do.

"How's this. I'll clue you later, when we're together, dig?" Blaine asked.

His voice was low and seductive and made Kurt weak in the knees. Kurt could barely manage to say, "Sure."

"But for now…," Kurt could hear the smile in Blaine's voice. "I think I should probably tell you exactly where we're going on our date tonight."

"Yes!" Kurt suddenly became breathless once again. He couldn't wait to see what kind of plans Blaine had in store for the evening. "It's been killing me all day. Please tell me."

"Okay," Blaine agreed. "But first…this is embarrassing, but would you be able to come to the hotel and pick me up?"

Kurt shrugged. "Of course. Why would that be embarrassing?"

"I never, um…," Blaine began nervously, "I never learned how to drive. I've been so preoccupied with music for a couple years now. And I want us to have total privacy tonight. I have a driver…David's really cool, but I want it to just be me and you. I don't want to have to have someone else driving us around."

"Oh." Kurt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Blaine had been so wrapped up in his career that he hadn't even undergone the mandated rite of passage for all teenagers. "No, that's perfectly fine. I don't mind driving."

"Okay," Blaine said. "But don't think that this means you're paying. You paid for our date last night, so now _I'm _treating _you_. I want to buy you dinner at that fine little Italian place that was across from the diner we went to last night."

Kurt knew exactly which restaurant he was talking about. "Oh, Blaine, that place is so expensive, I couldn't possibly ask you to—"

"Kurt, I _want _to," Blaine insisted. "You're worth it."

Kurt smiled softly. In spite of his fantastic relationship with his father and his amazing group of friends from school, nobody had ever quite made him feel the way Blaine did.

"O-okay," he stammered, still unable to stop smiling. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Blaine said confidently. There was a hint of a smile in his voice. "All right, it looked like a pretty upscale place. Am I right?"

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty fancy."

"Then I'm going to wear my finest suit," Blaine told him, and Kurt practically swooned at the mental image. Blaine was going to look _so _handsome. "And if anyone asks, you and I are very, very close old childhood friends who haven't seen each other in years and we decided to get together for dinner since we were both in town."

"Good idea," Kurt agreed. He knew people were bound to get suspicious to see two young men eating dinner alone together at such a fancy restaurant – one that was quite popular for dates.

"I'll give you some money before we go inside," Blaine suggested. "You can use that to pay. That way it looks like we're each paying for ourselves, but really I'll be paying for you."

Kurt smiled ruefully. "Kind of ridiculous how we have to go through all this trouble just to go on a date," he admitted with a teasing edge to his voice. "You're lucky I like you so much."

"Oh, you," Blaine giggled flirtatiously. "Well, I happen to like _you _quite a bit as well, so we're even."

He cleared his throat and his voice became more serious as he continued. "But you're absolutely right. I don't understand why people seem to have such a problem with the idea of two men being together, anyway. It's not like we're hurting anybody."

"We're not," Kurt agreed. "But if we have to fake our way around things in order to spend time together, then I'll take it. You're worth it, Blaine."

"Oh, now you're stealing my material," Blaine teased. He laughed a little bit. "Okay, okay, I'm probably holding you up from going to help your dad. I'll see you tonight at six thirty."

"It's a date," Kurt agreed, a gigantic smile spreading across his face as he hung up the phone.

xxx

Blaine wiped his sweaty palms on his pressed suit slacks and gulped back a few deep breaths as he stepped off the elevator. He was just a few steps away from seeing Kurt and already he was turning into a jumble of nerves and excitement. Tonight he was going to take the boy of his dreams out on an actual date and he couldn't be more thrilled.

It became even harder to breathe when he first caught sight of Kurt standing by the clerk's desk. Kurt looked nothing like he had last night - his leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans had been forgone in favor of a two-piece suit and tie which fit him beautifully. His hair was coiffed to perfection but still looked unbelievably soft. But Blaine's favorite part was the sparkle of excitement that twinkled in his eyes and the way his entire face lit up with a glowing smile when he spotted Blaine.

He wanted so badly to pull Kurt into an embrace and whisper in his ear that he looked stunning, but he couldn't. The desk clerk was watching them with wary eyes, as were several other hotel patrons that were filtering through the lobby. Blaine extended his hand to greet Kurt with an innocent, platonic handshake.

Thankfully Kurt caught on quickly and shook Blaine's hand. "Hey, Blaine, nice to see you."

"You too," Blaine said. It was killing him to have to play this so casually, but he knew it wasn't safe for them to show such brazen affection in public. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's cut out." Kurt turned to head through the lobby toward the door and as he did so, his hand brushed very lightly against Blaine's. Blaine knew that the small movement had been extremely deliberate and his heart skipped a few beats as he followed Kurt out.

They hurried through the hotel parking lot; mercifully, Kurt had parked relatively close to the building. Once they were both safely in the car, Blaine couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"Okay, wow. You...," he smiled as he looked Kurt over, very much liking what he saw, "you look _breathtaking_, Kurt."

It was still light outside, so Blaine had the distinct pleasure of watching Kurt's face turn pink in an adorable blush.

"Thanks," he said softly. "I could say the same for you. I mean...wow."

He giggled and Blaine couldn't help reaching over and placing one hand on the side of his face. His skin was unbelievably soft and his smile was warm as he turned to look at Blaine.

After stealing a surreptitious glance out the window to make sure the coast was clear, Blaine leaned in closer and pressed a quick but passionate kiss to Kurt's lips. The beautiful smile that graced Kurt's face when they broke away was so irresistible and inviting that Blaine had to steal another kiss.

"I've been waiting all day for that," Kurt admitted, looking handsomely flustered as they broke the second kiss.

"So have I," Blaine told him with a smile. "All right, you know where to go. Kurt Hummel, I'm going to make sure you have the time of your life tonight."

* * *

Next chapter is their actual date and its relatively sexy aftermath. Wheeeee.


	8. Chapter 8

Like I said, relatively sexy, but it's not TOO over the top. Wooo.

* * *

8

Just as Kurt expected, the staff of the restaurant immediately recognized Blaine. From the middle-aged male maître d' who showed them to their table, to the thirtysomething waitress who took their drink orders and brought them a basket of bread, everyone seemed to know who he was. Thankfully, most of them seemed to want to respect Blaine's wishes when he politely informed them that Kurt was a very, very dear friend and that they'd known each other for years and it would really be great if they could please have some privacy.

Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled after their food had been brought to the table. "You're quite popular around these parts," he teased.

He could have sworn he saw Blaine blush in the glow of the candle that stood in the middle of their table. "I'm kind of used to it. It happens everywhere."

Very quickly and carefully, Kurt gave an affectionate squeeze to Blaine's hand on top of the table, then smiled as he let go. "I'm just glad they gave us a table that's kind of out of the way. It's nice to have a _little _privacy."

Blaine picked up his fork and twirled some of his spaghetti around it, but didn't start eating just yet. "The more privacy we can get, the better. For more than one reason."

Kurt was grinning flirtatiously at him through the candlelight and Blaine forgot how to breathe for a second.

"In that case," he said slowly, "I have a wonderful idea for where we can go when we're finished eating here."

"Just that look on your face tells me that I'm probably going to like this idea very much," Blaine acknowledged. He picked up his fork and started to eat, trying to gracefully shove as much pasta into his mouth as possible so that his hormones wouldn't take over and make him say something even more stupid.

"Oh, I think you will," Kurt told him with a little wink. "At least, I hope you will." He picked up his own fork and began poking at his fettuccine Alfredo, suddenly looking unsure of himself.

Blaine smiled warmly to reassure him. He wanted to hold Kurt's hand, but forced himself to restrain.

"Kurt, I know I'm going to love whatever it is we end up doing," he said softly. "As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy."

This seemed to appease Kurt, because the tension in his face seemed to fade away. "And as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Blaine laughed. "That's sweet of you to say. I just want to see that gorgeous smile of yours as much as I can."

"Well, you're usually the one who puts it there, so you're in luck," Kurt admitted with a shy little smile that Blaine found absolutely adorable.

The rest of the meal continued in much the same fashion – sweet compliments whenever they could get away with it, abruptly switching to the type of casual banter that would be appropriate for two male friends to share whenever somebody walked by. When they were finished eating, Blaine took what was admittedly a big risk by ordering a slice of chocolate cheesecake for them to share for dessert. The waitress who brought it to their table looked at them warily before moving the candle aside a few inches and setting the dessert plate down in the center. Kurt and Blaine both thanked her nonchalantly before picking up their forks and starting to eat.

"Oh my god," Kurt moaned, his mouth still full of the first bite. "This is delicious."

Blaine had to try and retain his composure, which was difficult considering how unbelievably erotic Kurt had just sounded.

"Isn't it the most?" he agreed, trying to keep his tone casual as one of the waiters walked by their table.

Thankfully they didn't have much time to say anything after that, because their dessert was so good that they didn't even want to pause for conversation. The whole thing had been devoured within five minutes. A few minutes later, they paid for their meal – Kurt with the money Blaine had given him in the car before they'd come into the restaurant – and left to head out into the warm summer night.

The sky was almost completely dark, shining with only a few stars and a sliver of a moon. Kurt tried to contain his excitement as he started the engine in the car. He couldn't believe he was about to do this, especially with _Blaine Anderson _of all people – but at the same time, he hardly saw Blaine as a wildly popular international superstar anymore. Over the past few days that they'd known each other, he'd been lucky enough to see a side of Blaine that nobody else knew about, and that made it a little bit more difficult for Kurt to see Blaine in the same light that all the other adoring fans did. He didn't mind, though. He loved the fact that Blaine trusted him enough to share this side of himself with Kurt. He only wished they had more time to spend together.

He was going to make the most of their time together while it lasted. Blaine was only in town for one more night after this; two days from now, he would have to leave for the next stop on his tour. Kurt was bound and determined to make sure Blaine never forgot these precious few nights they'd spent together.

Finally they reached their destination – the edge of a cliff overlooking the bright city lights, lined with cars that were likely packed with teenagers who had obviously had the same idea as Kurt. He pulled to the darkest corner of the cliff, underneath the shade of a large tree that would make it difficult for others to see inside the car, a little ways away from everyone else. The whole time, his heart was racing wildly with excitement. He'd heard a lot about this place – it was, simply put, where teenagers came to hook up, which was something Kurt had never done before meeting Blaine. Just two days into this little relationship (or whatever it was they shared) and he had already crossed quite a few firsts off of his mental bucket list.

"Wow," Blaine whispered breathlessly when Kurt parked the car and took the keys out of the ignition. "This view is spectacular."

"Really," Kurt said, his voice as low and seductive as possible, not taking his eyes off Blaine. "I like my view a lot better."

Blaine immediately turned to look at him. His face softened into a smile when he met Kurt's eyes; Kurt placed one hand on the back of Blaine's neck and twirled his fingers around a few curls which had managed to escape from the hair gel.

"Y'know, you never told me about those dirty mental images you had earlier," Kurt pointed out. "When I told you I was working on cars at the garage…?"

Blaine couldn't speak for a moment as he remembered what he'd been thinking about earlier. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds for him to remember how to talk.

"Oh, yes," he said as seductively as possible. "The ones where you're bent over the open hood of some souped-up hot rod, all greasy and grimy and dirty?"

"That sounds exactly like what I was doing earlier today," Kurt teased. He inched his face closer to Blaine's, letting their lips just barely brush as he spoke again. "Anything else?"

There was no way Blaine would be able to continue without properly kissing those lips, so that's exactly what he did.

"Just…_god_, Kurt, that's so hot," he moaned as Kurt attached his mouth to Blaine's neck and began nipping and sucking lightly on the skin there. "_You're_ hot."

Kurt pulled back and glanced down at his own outfit, looking himself over. "Y'know, you shouldn't let this nice suit fool you. I'm not as much of a gentleman as this makes me look."

"I never said you had to be a gentleman," Blaine teased as he kissed him. "Quite honestly, I'd prefer that you not."

Kurt didn't even respond verbally, just kissed him back with all the passion he had. Very carefully, he pressed the tip of his tongue against Blaine's bottom lip; Blaine opened his mouth to grant Kurt entrance and they melted against each other as their tongues met. Blaine immediately found that he was enjoying the soft little noises that Kurt was making right into his mouth as they kissed, so he took the biggest risk of all so far and gently maneuvered Kurt so that he was lying on his back across the seat with Blaine hovering over him.

Kurt's face was flushed and he was smiling as they finally broke the kiss to catch their breath. "God, this all feels like some kind of fantastic dream," he admitted breathlessly as Blaine lifted him up by the shoulders a little bit in order to slip him out of his suit jacket.

"I know," Blaine murmured in agreement, gently loosening Kurt's tie and tossing it aside. "I never thought I'd have a chance to be like this with _any _boy, let alone one as handsome as you."

He locked their mouths together into another kiss and Kurt immediately began working to remove the top half of Blaine's clothing. After ridding the other boy of his jacket and bow tie, he found himself giggling into the kiss as Blaine's hand wandered up to start undoing the buttons of Kurt's white button-down shirt.

"Impatient, are we?" he murmured against Blaine's lips, somehow aware of the fact that his shirt was already halfway unbuttoned.

Blaine didn't say a word, just kept unbuttoning and pulled away to look at Kurt when he was done. The sight before him made him choke on a breath. Kurt was even more muscular than his t-shirt the previous night had seemed to suggest. His chest was sturdy and strong, with svelte muscles that were most definitely there but not overexaggerated – just the way Blaine had always pictured the man of his dreams. Of course, now Blaine was thinking about those fantastic arm muscles as well, so he gently eased Kurt the rest of the way out of his shirt and tossed it aside without even looking to see where it landed. Kurt's body was so beautifully masculine and it was _all for Blaine_.

Blaine ran one hand up Kurt's chest, just marveling. Kurt was almost too perfect to be real, like a marble statue of a Greek god from some bygone era. Blaine let his hand travel back down, letting his fingers lightly skim Kurt's nipples. Kurt closed his eyes and moaned softly, trembling a little bit when Blaine's hand ventured further down to palm at the bulge that was tenting the front of his pants.

"Still okay?" Blaine asked, chuckling softly as Kurt thrust his hips up into his hand.

Kurt nodded quickly. "Oh, Blaine…th-that feels so good…"

He picked his head up, leaning forward to capture Blaine's lips in a heated kiss. At the same time, he began blindly fumbling with the buttons at the front of Blaine's own shirt, desperate to feel as much of Blaine's skin against his own as possible. Blaine kept touching him through his pants without breaking the kiss, which made it slightly harder to concentrate on the simple task of getting the shirt unbuttoned. Kurt had never been touched like this before and these sensations he was experiencing were all so new and wonderful. He pushed Blaine's shirt back off his shoulders and pulled him closer so they were chest-to-chest.

They were so close that Blaine's hand could no longer fit between their bodies to keep touching Kurt, but that barely even mattered. Even though they were both still wearing their dress slacks, he could feel that Blaine was just as hard as he was and he couldn't choke back another moan as they began rubbing against each other. They broke the kiss eventually, only for Blaine to move his mouth to Kurt's neck. He kissed down onto Kurt's chest, letting his lips linger with every little kiss, savoring how beautiful Kurt was. Blaine was well aware of the fact that they didn't have much more time to spend together while he was in town, and he was determined to make the best of this. He had every intention of keeping in touch with Kurt even after he left, but he had no way of knowing when they'd get to be together like this again.

He kissed his way back up onto Kurt's lips and thrust his hips against the other boy's once again, desperate to feel that wonderful friction below his waist. Kurt began reciprocating the motion, still kissing Blaine fiercely, and he knew he was close. Sure enough, just a few seconds later, he managed to whisper, "_Blaine_…!" the second before he finally reached his climax.

Blaine pulled back from the kiss so he could see what Kurt looked like as he came. His eyes were lidded, hair falling out of place, cheeks flushed, lips kiss-swollen and parted. He looked so strung out and immaculate that Blaine barely had time to realize what was happening before he, too, went over the edge, moaning Kurt's name as he came.

When they had both recovered, Blaine let his head collapse onto Kurt's chest as they both gasped to catch their breath. Kurt smiled affectionately, trying to ignore the sticky and uncomfortable situation in his pants, and wrapped his arms around Blaine to hold him close.

Blaine looked up to meet Kurt's gaze, intending to say something sweet and romantic, but lost all coherency when he saw the tender affection in Kurt's already exquisite eyes. Instead, all he managed to say was, "Wow."

"Wow," Kurt repeated, giggling adorably. He pressed a kiss to the top of Blaine's head. "That was incredible."

And it really _had _been incredible. Aside from the obvious fact that he'd just done that with the boy he'd been secretly crushing on for what felt like forever, it had been amazing just to be with another person in that way. He knew they hadn't gone all the way, but they were off to a pretty good start. His whole body was still tingling and he thought that if Blaine's head wasn't resting on his chest, holding him down to Earth, he might just float away.

Blaine placed an innocent kiss on Kurt's chest. "Thank you, Kurt."

"For what?" Kurt asked, gently pulling his fingers through Blaine's now-unkempt curls.

"Dunno exactly," Blaine murmured. He brought his head up and nuzzled his face against Kurt's neck. "Just thanks."

"I want to make your short stay in town as special as I can," Kurt told him softly. "Which means I want to make you feel as good as possible, if you'll let me."

"God, Kurt, of course I'll let you. I'll let you do whatever you want to me," Blaine practically moaned in desperation. "Nobody else can do the things you do to me. Nobody."

"Same for you with me," Kurt said with a tiny smile. He took one of Blaine's hands and lifted it up, placing it over his own heart so Blaine could feel how rapidly it was still beating. "Feel that?"

Blaine kept his hand over Kurt's heart for a long time, just feeling it beat into his palm. In that moment, he started to think that he just might be in love with this boy.

"It's beating like that because of you," Kurt murmured. "Hell, I might even go so far as to say that it's beating _for _you."

The sweet little smile that played his lips and the tenderness in his eyes only reaffirmed what Blaine had just been thinking. There was no doubt in his mind. He loved Kurt.

As much as he wanted to say those words out loud, he knew he had to wait. It was obvious that Kurt felt _something _for him, but whether or not his feelings were as deep as Blaine's remained to be seen. Blaine didn't just want to toss the L-word out there, lest he freak Kurt out about this whole thing. It was still too soon, and the last thing Blaine wanted to do was screw this up.

But he could still _show _Kurt he loved him, even with just the smallest little gestures. Such as making sure Kurt got home in time so he wouldn't get in trouble for missing curfew again. All of a sudden he'd realized that it probably had to be getting pretty late, and he didn't want to make the same mistake as last night.

He kissed Kurt's lips softly one more time, then pulled away to smile at him. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's really late and I don't want you to miss curfew."

"Oh, no, you're right." Kurt sat up with a start and immediately began pulling his clothes back on. "My dad told me I'm grounded if it happens again, and you're only in town one more night…that would be awful."

He shifted in his seat as he leaned forward to grab his tie and grimaced. "Ew, these pants are _not _comfortable anymore."

Blaine had been experiencing the exact same discomfort. For whatever reason, he decided to say exactly what was on his mind at that precise second without stopping to think.

"I think I know how we can fix that," he suggested coyly. "Pants off next time."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Yes, the experience they'd just shared had obviously been sexual, but in the grand scheme of things, they hadn't gone _that _far. Kurt was probably horrified that Blaine would even suggest-

"I like that idea," Kurt said slowly as an enticing smile grew on his face. "You're a smart man, Blaine."

He leaned in closer and pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of Blaine's mouth. It was a small gesture, but it left Blaine craving more in every possible way.

"Next time," he promised, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his suit jacket and straightening his tie to the best of his ability. "Right now, we need to be gentlemen again."


	9. Chapter 9

9

Burt Hummel had just fallen asleep in his favorite armchair as some late-night radio broadcast droned on in the background, when suddenly he was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was a quarter after midnight, meaning that Kurt had arrived home in plenty of time for his 12:30 a.m. curfew.

Kurt had a goofy, lovesick grin on his face as he wandered past the living room and began heading upstairs. He didn't even appear to have noticed his father until Burt called out, "Hey, kiddo."

Suddenly Kurt was startled out of his reverie and he turned toward where his father's voice had come from. "Oh. Hey, dad."

His voice had an almost dreamlike quality to it and it seemed like he couldn't stop smiling. When he turned and Burt could get a better look at him, he noticed that his son's clothes were disheveled and his hair looked nothing like it had when he'd left the house earlier that evening. Burt had been a teenage boy once, too, and just from looking at Kurt he could easily tell just what his son had been up to that evening.

"You sure look like you had a real good time," Burt acknowledged with as straight a face as he could manage.

"I did," Kurt told him, and Burt had to admit that he hadn't seen Kurt this blissfully happy in a long time.

"Thanks for getting home on time tonight," Burt called after him as Kurt turned and resumed heading up the stairs. He wanted to give his son some privacy and not seem like he was hovering, so he waited until he'd heard Kurt's bedroom door click shut before standing up from his chair and heading up to his own bedroom.

Once he was within the safe confines of his room, Kurt finally allowed a huge smile to spread across his face as he fell onto his bed. All day long he'd felt like he was in some kind of wonderful dream, and he never wanted to wake up. He decided he could ignore the uncomfortable situation in his pants for just a few more minutes because right now he just needed a moment to catch his breath and try to focus on the fact that this was actually happening to him.

He picked up the record album that seemingly never left his bedside table – Blaine's most recent release, from earlier this year – and almost burst into tears when he studied the face of the beautiful man on the cover. He, Kurt Hummel, had just hooked up with this boy in a car. Nobody else in the world could say that. And it had been so much more than just a sloppy, emotionless hookup – both of them had been able to tell that there was something more to the way their bodies had moved together. They both had very strong feelings for each other and Kurt was both thrilled and wonderfully terrified to think about where their relationship would go from here.

He allowed himself to stare at Blaine's perfect face on the cover of the record album for just a few seconds longer before setting it aside and standing up from the bed. He took a shower in a dreamy trance, not even really paying attention to what he was doing, then collapsed into bed when he returned to his room and fell asleep almost immediately. Blaine was only in town for one more day. Despite the fact that Blaine lived the high life of superstardom and glamour, Kurt was bound and determined to make tomorrow the best and most memorable day of Blaine's entire existence.

The next morning he woke up with a smile on his face, because he knew that he would get to see Blaine again later that day. After eating a quick bowl of cereal, he decided he may as well try calling the hotel to see if Blaine was awake just yet. As silly as it sounded, Kurt really just wanted to hear his voice, which was why he was ridiculously happy when the hotel operator connected the call and Blaine's dreamy voice greeted him with a sweet, "Hi, Kurt."

He absolutely adored the way his name sounded when Blaine said it. "There's my boy. How are you?"

For a second, he hoped Blaine wouldn't be too taken aback by his brazen choice of possessive words, but his apprehensions immediately faded when the other boy responded. "I'm your boy? Then you're _my _boy."

"I'm all right with that," Kurt conceded, secretly thrilled at the thought of being Blaine Anderson's boy.

"I'm doing pretty amazing now that I can hear your voice," Blaine said in response to Kurt's previous question. "And I can't wait to see you later today…if you want to get together, that is?"

He made the statement a question, subtly inviting Kurt to join him for the evening. Kurt, of course, wasn't about to pass up such an opportunity to spend time with Blaine.

"Of course I want to," he said, unable to stop smiling. "After last night, in the car…I really want to spend as much time with you as possible."

"Oh, god, Kurt, that was _amazing_," Blaine practically moaned. "I have to admit, I wouldn't mind doing that again."

"Neither would I," Kurt told him. "But remember the rule you came up with last night: no pants allowed."

He bit his lip and twirled the phone cord around his finger, unable to believe himself. Blaine Anderson, superstar extraordinaire, had managed to convert him from a never-been-kissed virgin to a smooth-talking, sex-craving _real man_ in just a matter of days. He couldn't wait to see what was in store for him later that night.

"I think that's definitely a good idea, especially given the uncomfortable situation we were both in last night," Blaine joked. His tone suddenly became more hesitant as he continued. "Hey, um…for tonight, do you just want to…c-come up to my room here at the hotel? We can go out if you want, but I'd really rather just be alone since this is our last night together."

Kurt's heart was already racing with anticipation. "Sure," he heard himself say, knowing full well that he'd essentially just agreed to give Blaine all of him and not minding one bit.

"Sounds perfect," Blaine told him. "And Kurt…I just want to let you know that this isn't just some random hookup, or me just looking for a good time while I'm in town. I really do have feelings for you. Strong feelings. And…I've never felt like this about anyone else before."

"Neither have I." Kurt's voice was low and breathless. "Please don't think I'm trying to sound desperate, but I'm willing to do anything to stay with you even after you leave."

Blaine laughed a little bit and even through the phone, the sound sent electric tingles through Kurt's entire body. "If you're desperate, then so am I. I, um…I really want to be with you, Kurt. As much as it kills me that we have to keep this a secret, I'll do whatever it takes. You're the only person who can really make me happy and…and I've been waiting _so _long to be happy. To feel _normal_. So thank you."

He sighed and giggled a little bit. "Wow, I always end up pouring my whole heart out to you over the phone, don't I?"

"I don't mind," Kurt told him, trying to make sure Blaine could hear the smile in his voice. "I think it's sweet. And I can't wait to see you tonight."

They quickly confirmed their plans, agreeing that Kurt would come to Blaine's hotel at seven that evening, and Kurt couldn't stop smiling even after he hung up the phone. Suddenly seven o'clock seemed like a lifetime away, but he knew it would be so beyond worth the wait.

His father was down the street at his garage, and Kurt really didn't feel like sitting in the house all afternoon by himself, so he decided he might as well go out. He hadn't been frequenting his usual haunts as much lately, and he knew his friends were probably wondering where the hell he'd been. He found the keys to Burt's car – immediately thankful that his father had opted to walk the short distance to work today – and drove to the diner where he and Blaine had had their first "date" a few days earlier.

It was Saturday, which meant that the popular hangout would be crowded all day, but Kurt didn't even have to go inside. After parking the car and getting out, he spotted his usual group of friends leaning up against the brick side of the building, most of them with cigarettes dangling from their lips.

"Hey, Kurt!" Noah Puckerman – or Puck, as he liked to be called – called out as Kurt approached the group. "What's up, man? We haven't been seeing you around much."

Kurt shrugged, trying to remain as calm and nonchalant as possible. He leaned against the cool brick wall and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "Just been kinda busy. I actually was out on a date last night and the night before that."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Unfortunately, when your friends include the likes of Noah Puckerman, Finn Hudson, Sam Evans and Mike Chang, as Kurt's did, it is extremely difficult to change the subject after sharing such a valuable piece of information.

"Aw, can you guys believe this? Kurt's got himself a girl now," Finn cracked, leaning over to give Kurt a light punch on the arm. "What's she like?"

Kurt swallowed the lump of nerves that was clogging his throat. He turned to Sam, who was just in the process of lighting another cigarette. "Can I get a smoke?"

Sam handed him the pack when he was finished; Kurt took a cigarette and lit it before handing the pack back to his friend. He rarely ever smoked – only when he was hanging out with the guys like this, and even then it wasn't something he did very often – but he figured this would at least buy him some time and allow him to stall from answering his friends' questions.

He took a long drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke out of his mouth, watching the way it pirouetted up into the warm summer air. "What's who like?" he asked, playing dumb to buy himself even more time. "My date?"

"Yeah, we want to know all about it," Mike prodded. "We were all starting to think you'd be a swingin' bachelor for the rest of your life."

"Hey, give Loverboy Kurt a break. He's only been on, what? Two dates?" Sam joked. "A lot of the chicks around here are total prudes. I doubt he's gotten any action just yet."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Kurt said with a playful little smirk. He raised his cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply to avoid having to say anything more for a few seconds. _The girls around here might be prudes, but my boy sure as hell isn't_.

"You got some already? This mystery date of yours actually puts out?" Finn asked. His tone immediately brightened to one of excitement when Kurt nodded. "_Nice_! Look, man, I know you and Rachel are like siblings or whatever, but I tell you, that girl won't let me do _anything_."

"I still don't believe this," Mike chimed in. "You mean she actually let you go _all the way _after just two dates?"

As much as Kurt hated having to pretend Blaine was a girl, he knew he might as well go along with it because it would make this whole discussion that much easier.

"Not just yet," he admitted. "Last night we hooked up in my car over at the lookout, and tonight…tonight we thought we'd get a hotel room and have a little fun." He winked through a cloud of smoke.

"I have crazy respect for you, man," Puck told him, nodding in approval. "We honestly thought you'd be single forever, but you managed to be the only one of us to get a girl who gives you _anything_."

Kurt knew that with Puck's warped sense of humor and tough-guy persona, he was actually giving him a compliment. "Thanks."

Then, because he'd had just about all he could take of that conversation, he expertly changed the subject. "Hey Puck, by the way, did you ever get that T-Bird fixed up? It's too nice of a car to let go to waste after you totaled it. You should bring it by my dad's shop sometime."

xxx

Blaine had been doing literally nothing but pacing around his hotel room all afternoon. He didn't want to go out anywhere, because he didn't know this city and he wouldn't feel comfortable going out without Kurt, who knew this place like the back of his hand and would be able to do everything in his power to keep Blaine from getting mobbed by rabid fans. He'd tried to read one of the books he'd brought along with him on tour, but only found himself getting distracted as he thought of Kurt. Blaine couldn't wait to see him – be with him, touch him, kiss him, love him. He wanted Kurt with him so badly that the hours until he arrived seemed like days.

When the phone in his room finally rang, he practically tripped over himself in his haste to get across the room and answer it. When he finally had the receiver pressed to his ear, he greeted the operator on the other end as calmly as possible, despite his racing heart and shortness of breath.

The operator on the other end spoke the exact same words she always did. "Mr. Anderson, Kurt Hummel is here for you."

Without even thinking, he told her, "Send him up to my room. Please."

There was a brief hesitation, then, "All right, Mr. Anderson," and a click as she hung up.

In those few minutes before Kurt showed up, Blaine was utterly at a loss as to what he should do with himself. He paced around for a little bit longer, then sat down on the edge of the bed for about five seconds, nervously running a hand through his hair (and pulling it out of its gelled perfection as he did so) before realizing what he'd done and jumping up from the bed as if it had caught on fire. He headed into the small bathroom and grabbed the nearest bottle of hair product, but he'd just barely managed to squirt a small amount into his hand when a sudden knock on the door made his heart stop.

He stood frozen for a second, then reached for a towel to wipe his hand and tossed it on the floor without even giving a damn. When he finally made it to the door, he forced himself to stop for a second and breathe before pulling it open.

Blaine wanted to cry when he got his first glimpse of the beautiful boy waiting for him out in the hallway. Kurt looked beyond stunning, as usual, but Blaine barely had two seconds to drink him in before Kurt was stepping into the room and pushing the door shut behind him.

"Kurt…," he said breathlessly, not remembering how to say any other words, completely captivated by the lustful hunger in Kurt's eyes.

Before he knew it, Kurt's arms were around his neck and their lips were locked together in a heated, passionate kiss. Kurt spoke without breaking away, little whimpers of need breathed right against Blaine's lips.

"Oh, Blaine…Blaine, I need you. I need you so bad."

Blaine had to kiss him back for a moment without speaking, trying to regain coherent control of his thoughts. "I know. Oh, god, I know. The waiting was _killing _me."

He hadn't even realized that they'd been backing up into the room as they kissed until he felt the backs of his knees hit the bed. He let himself fall backwards, collapsing onto the mattress, pulling Kurt with him and still holding the kiss.

"I'm right here," Kurt murmured against Blaine's lips. "We're together now. I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, good. Good." Blaine slipped Kurt out of his black leather jacket and inhaled deeply, breathing him in. Kurt smelled like coffee and peppermint and cigarette smoke and a faint hint of cologne, all mixed together into one intoxicating scent that was so uniquely _Kurt_.

He moved his hands up underneath the fabric of Kurt's tight, white t-shirt, not removing it just yet, simply letting his hands wander all over Kurt's beautifully muscled chest. Kurt hummed in content against Blaine's lips; the sound sent rollicking chills all the way through Blaine's body and instantly made him crave more.

He brought his hands to the hem of Kurt's shirt and began pulling it up to take it off. Kurt allowed him to do that, but once he was shirtless, he broke the kiss and placed a hand on Blaine's chest. "Wait."

Blaine felt himself blushing fervently. He hoped against hope that he hadn't messed things up by trying to move too quickly. "I…I'm sorry…"

Kurt smiled warmly down at him and curled one hand around the side of Blaine's jaw. "Don't be."

Blaine sighed and leaned his face into Kurt's touch as the other boy continued. "Blaine, I want to do this. Believe me, I do. I just realized…we have _all night_." He sat back, straddling Blaine's waist, and began massaging Blaine's chest gently through his shirt. "Well, we have until twelve thirty, because I have to be home, but still. That's quite a long time. I think we should take it slow. Savor the moment, y'know? I got kinda caught up in it there too for a second, but now that I stop and think about it…"

He shifted and moved down Blaine's body, pushing up the casual plaid shirt Blaine had worn today, not unbuttoning it yet. He pressed his lips against the warm, tanned skin of Blaine's stomach, just above his belly button, and continued speaking.

"I want to remember everything about this, Blaine. Every touch…"

As Kurt moved back up, closer to Blaine's face, he let one hand travel under his shirt and come to rest gently over his rapidly palpitating heart. He placed a gentle kiss to the corner of Blaine's mouth. "Every kiss…"

Blaine's eyes fluttered closed. "Oh, Kurt…"

Kurt's voice was weak with emotion as he continued. "Because I'm not going to lie, it's still hard for me to believe this is happening. You could have your pick of anyone in the world and you chose _me_. I'm a total nobody and you're an international superstar, but I feel very strongly for you and by some incredible miracle, you feel the same way back."

The second he stopped talking, Blaine pressed a finger to his lips so he wouldn't be able to talk down on himself anymore.

"You're not a nobody," he promised Kurt. "You're my boy. My Kurt. You're Kurt Hummel, who came into this world on May 27, 1939 to make it more beautiful just by being in it."

Kurt chuckled. "You remembered my birthday." He had mentioned it only once before, but Blaine seemed to have a great memory.

"You already knew mine," Blaine countered, trailing his index finger down the center of Kurt's chest all the way to the waistband of his jeans, then back up.

"February 5," Kurt admitted, trying to ignore the chill that shot down his spine as Blaine's finger moved down and back up his body, "1940. I still can't believe I'm older than you."

Blaine dropped a lazy kiss onto Kurt's collarbone. "Mmmm, not by much. We'd probably be in the same grade if I went to school."

"I wish you went to my school," Kurt murmured, stroking his fingers through Blaine's hair. He couldn't get enough of those curls. "And I wish people were more tolerant, so we could walk down the hall holding hands, and have little kisses before we went into class, just like all the boy-girl couples do."

His voice sounded so sad and it broke Blaine's heart. Blaine kissed him lightly on the lips, bringing to Kurt's face the tiny smile that he hoped he would get in response.

"That sounds so perfect," he whispered. "Y'know, sometimes I think I'd give up my whole career, all the fans, all the money…I'd give up everything in a second if it meant I got to be normal. Go to high school. Have friends. I dropped out of public school after eighth grade so I could make records and go on tour, and now I have to have a private tutor so I don't fall too far behind. What kind of kid has a tutor?"

He was silent for a second, letting Kurt take all this in, then he continued.

"I wish my life could be like this all the time," he said softly. "I wish I could go out with you every single night. I wish I could get in trouble for missing curfew."

He gave Kurt a playful smirk, to which Kurt responded with a gentle kiss on his temple. He wrapped his arms around Blaine and pulled him closer as he spoke.

"I'll make you a deal," he said. "Tonight, for as long as we're in this room, you are not a world famous teen singing sensation. You're just Blaine, a regular teenage boy with regular teenage boy feelings."

Blaine picked up his head and moved his face closer to Kurt's. "I think I know the perfect way to act on those feelings."

In the years to come, Kurt would look back on that evening and still be at a loss of words to describe just how wonderful it was. He was nervous, of course, because despite what had happened between them in the car the previous night, he knew they'd be taking things much, much further in the complete and total privacy of Blaine's hotel room. And he was right – after indulging in some desperate, passionate kisses and heavy petting, he found his hands wandering to the button and zipper on Blaine's pants without even realizing what he was doing.

He was worried for a moment that Blaine was going to stop him – after all, what right did Kurt, a complete and total nobody, have to strip an internationally adored pop icon? He'd already ridded Blaine of his shirt, but this was taking a much bigger step. After a brief hesitation, he remembered Blaine's words from earlier in the evening – _You're not a nobody _– and that gave him all the confidence he needed.

Kurt brought his mouth down and gently began peppering kisses all over the smooth skin of Blaine's toned stomach as he popped the button out of its hole and pulled the zipper down. Blaine made a soft noise of contentment in the back of his throat which only encouraged Kurt further. He let his mouth continue its path down Blaine's body as he slipped the other boy out of his pants and underwear at the same time, letting instinct and desire take over as he kept up his trail of kisses right down onto Blaine's hard length. Blaine trembled with desire above him and, as Kurt settled between his legs and began sucking lightly on the head of his cock, immediately curled his fingers into Kurt's hair to make it nearly impossible for him to move his head much further.

But Kurt's mouth hadn't even been working its magic on Blaine for very long when suddenly Blaine came to the realization that he was very, very close to hitting his climax. He wanted to last a little bit longer, because that would maybe make it seem as if his time with Kurt was lasting longer, so he reluctantly tried to think of a way to end it.

"Kurt. Kurt. Please, stop."

Kurt looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, holding Blaine's gaze for a second before sliding his mouth off of him with a wet _pop_. He moved his head up just a few inches and started mouthing at Blaine's protruding hipbone.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, his mouth never leaving Blaine's skin.

"Oh, god, yes. Everything's just fine," Blaine said. He tried to make his voice as seductive as possible as he continued. "I just don't want to be finished just yet. I still haven't seen you naked."

For a second he hoped he hadn't come across as too brazenly forward in his attempt to sound enticing, but he didn't have much time to think about that. Without saying a word, Kurt got up and moved to stand in front of the bed. Blaine sat up and moved closer to get a better view – he was a teenage boy, after all, with normal teenage boy feelings, just as Kurt had said earlier. Right now, said teenage boy feelings just really, really wanted to see Kurt naked.

Kurt kept his eyes locked on Blaine's as he unbuttoned and unzipped his own jeans, then slipped them down his legs and stepped out of them. He did the same with his boxer shorts, then stood there for a moment longer, completely naked, letting Blaine drink him in. As he slowly walked back over toward the bed, he had to force himself not to smile when he noticed that Blaine was practically salivating.

He got on his hands and knees on the bed and crawled over Blaine, settling his body over the other boy's, lowering himself so that every inch of him was pressed against every inch of Blaine. It was almost the same position they'd been in the previous night in the car, but this time there were absolutely no fabric barriers in the way. Both boys moaned deeply at the sudden sensation of beautifully arousing friction below the waist.

Kurt smiled and gave Blaine a surprisingly innocent kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad we decided not to go out," he whispered. "I could stay here with you all night."

Blaine looked up into Kurt's eyes and was met with a gaze filled with nothing but the purest and most tender affection. The tiny smile that touched Kurt's lips was breathtakingly beautiful and Blaine knew that he couldn't hold his tongue for much longer, not when Kurt was looking at him like that.

He reached up and placed one hand gently on the side of Kurt's face. "I love you, Kurt."

The feeling that overcame Kurt in that exact moment couldn't even be put into words. He thought for a second that he must be dreaming, but at the same time, he had never been so aware of anyone or anything, so in touch with his own body. He had no choice but to believe Blaine's words, because in that moment he could feel Blaine's love in every single cell in his body. The affectionate, loving way Blaine was looking at him left no doubt in his mind.

He leaned down, still smiling, and gently touched his lips to Blaine's. After a few quick kisses pressed to Blaine's mouth one after the other in sweet succession, he moved his face away just slightly as he spoke.

"I love you, Blaine," he whispered. "And I hope you don't think I'm not just saying that. I love you because of everything that you are, not just for the one side of you that everybody in the world gets to see."

Blaine honestly thought he was about to cry. Not only did he have the boy of his dreams saying that he loved him, but Kurt had managed to look past the side of Blaine that had been so overexposed to the public and to screaming teenage fans. He saw Blaine for the person that he was, rather than for his celebrity status, and that meant the world to Blaine.

Some might argue that Blaine lived the good life, but in that moment he knew that he had never been more lucky. Yes, there was the obvious fact that he had a beautiful naked boy lying on top of him, and that did wonders for his libido. But at the same time, he thought, Kurt was here and Kurt was doing this with him because he _loved _Blaine.

Before he could get too overcome with emotion, Blaine looked up into Kurt's eyes and spoke very quietly.

"There's nobody else I'd rather be doing this with than you," he whispered.

Kurt kissed the warm little spot under Blaine's ear and began kissing the rest of the way down his jaw. "I could say the same," he murmured. "I am _so _glad you're my first."

"Mmmm. And I'm glad you're mine." Blaine smiled and turned to the side, quickly capturing Kurt's lips in a kiss as the other boy moved his head. It was the last thing either of them would really say for a very long time.

They had quite a few hours to kill before Kurt had to be home and their wonderful little whirlwind of a three-day romance came to an end, but of course neither of them preferred to think about the fact that this would be the last night they would spend together for a very long time. Instead, both of them tried to focus on the fact that they still _did _have each other for the time being. Each of them ended up making love to the other once. First, Kurt took Blaine inside, and the sensation of being joined with Blaine in this way, being so full with him, was so overwhelmingly invigorating that Kurt was practically brought to tears. After coming down from their mutual high and cuddling while exchanging sweet little kisses for about an hour or so after that, both started to get restless again and they quickly started to escalate into making out, and then even more. This time, Blaine was on the receiving end.

All in all, it was a sensual, passionate night of everything from steamy kisses to warm snuggles to the sound of skin slapping against skin as moans and whimpers fell from one mouth to another. It left them both exhausted in the most incredible way, so after making love the second time they fell into a comfortable silence, twined around each other as they gasped for breath, the bed sheets having been kicked carelessly to the floor in the midst of their escapades.

Blaine had had his window open all day, and now there was a slight summer evening breeze trickling into the room and warming his already sweat-soaked skin. Coupled with the sensation produced by the small kisses Kurt was placing on his neck, it felt incredible.

The open window also proved to be a curse, however, when suddenly there came the sound of twelve deep chimes in the distance. The town's old clock tower was kindly alerting them that it was midnight.

Kurt was the first to bring up the painfully obvious elephant in the room. "I have half an hour to get home."

"You should probably get going, then," Blaine said, making no move to let him go. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

Kurt seemed to be on the same page as Blaine was, which was evident in the way he snuggled closer against Blaine and nuzzled his face adorably against the other boy's neck.

"I don't want to go," he whispered. "When I leave, then this is over."

Blaine cupped Kurt's chin in his hand and tilted his face up. "Nobody said it had to be over," he murmured. "I have your number. I'll call you every day, no matter how expensive it is. And my tour ends around the last week of August. Maybe I can come back and see you for a few days…?"

He phrased it so that it was being asked as a question, giving Kurt the opportunity to answer. The last thing Blaine wanted to do was make Kurt feel like he was obligated to sit around all summer, waiting for Blaine.

To his immense relief, though, Kurt seemed to like this idea.

"Oh, Blaine, that would be amazing," he said softly. "If it's not too much trouble, I would love for you to come back. I know I'm going to want to see you again."

"I want to see you, too," Blaine promised him. "Like I said, I'm willing to do anything to make this work."

He dropped a kiss to Kurt's temple and sighed as he continued. "I honestly love you so much. Maybe it's too early to be having these feelings, but I've _never _felt this way in my life. About anyone."

"I haven't, either," Kurt confessed in a whisper. He giggled a little bit. "Trust me, I _thought _I was in love with you when I was still just another fan listening to your records in my room every night. But now that I know you for who _you _are…these feelings are deeper and truer than anything I ever felt before."

Blaine gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. "Just please, please promise you won't forget me the way I really am."

"I promise," Kurt swore to him. "I'll never be able to look at your picture on your album covers the same way ever again, and that's a good thing." He smiled.

For whatever reason, his smile brought tears to Blaine's eyes. One must have involuntarily slipped down his cheek, because suddenly Kurt was kissing the escaped tear away.

"Why are you crying?" His voice sounded so unbelievably sad that it broke Blaine's heart.

"I just hate having to do this. I hate having to leave you."

"I know it's going to be hard, but you have to go and do the rest of your tour," Kurt murmured, stroking his fingers through Blaine's curls. Blaine should never, ever be allowed to wear hair gel again, he decided. "Go and make beautiful music and dazzle your adoring fans. Then, at the end of the summer when we see each other, it'll be _so _worth the wait."

Blaine snuggled himself even closer against Kurt. "This is _exactly _why I love you."

They held each other in peaceful silence for just a moment longer, trying to think about anything but the fact that they wouldn't get to be together like this again for a very, very long time. At least that's how it seemed to them. Blaine allowed himself to take one more long, unabashed look at Kurt's entire naked body, filing the beautiful image away in his memory.

It was Kurt who finally broke the silence, albeit reluctantly. "I, um…I should probably get going. My curfew…"

"I understand," Blaine said with just as much reluctance. They stood up from the bed and began mindlessly putting clothes on. Kurt chuckled when he noticed the shirt that Blaine was slipping himself into.

Blaine paused, his arms midway through the sleeves, and looked at Kurt. "What's so funny?"

"You're putting on _my _shirt," Kurt pointed out with a smirk.

"Oh." Blaine did his best to duck his head and hide a blush as he began lifting the shirt off so he could give it back to Kurt, but suddenly a light touch on his arm stopped him.

"Keep it," Kurt instructed with a smile. Blaine did as he was told and began putting the shirt back on; he managed to pull his head through just in time to see Kurt buttoning up Blaine's own plaid shirt. "But I'm keeping yours."

Blaine shrugged casually in agreement as he stepped into his pants. "Can't say I hate that idea."

Kurt pulled his arms through the sleeves of his jacket and put his own jeans back on. The combination of the plaid shirt with the black leather of the jacket would have looked strange on anyone else, but somehow Kurt managed to pull it off. He looked at Blaine for a moment, obviously hesitant about something, before reaching into the pocket of his jeans and taking out his wallet.

Blaine's mind went into overdrive as he watched Kurt open his wallet and began to wonder about what he could possibly be doing. Finally, Kurt produced a folded square of paper from inside one of the pockets and bit his lip nervously as he offered it to Blaine.

"I wrote this for you," he said cautiously. For whatever reason, Blaine found his nervousness to be absolutely adorable. "Don't read it right away, though. Wait until tomorrow when you're on your way to…?"

He trailed off, obviously unsure where Blaine was headed next, so Blaine took the liberty of helping him out.

"New York," he told Kurt, unable to hide an excited smile. "I've got a show there this weekend and then I'll be on Ed Sullivan this Sunday night."

This was the first Kurt had heard about this and he couldn't even explain how overwhelmed with pride he suddenly was. He pulled Blaine into an emotional hug, squeezing him close, never wanting to let go.

"Oh, that's _amazing_, Blaine," he whispered. "I'm so proud of you."

"You want to know something?" Blaine asked in response. "You're the very first person to actually say those words to me."

"What words?" Kurt blinked in confusion. "I'm proud?"

Blaine simply pressed his lips into a wry smile and nodded. Suddenly it was clear to Kurt that there must have been so much more to Blaine's family life than he could even begin to comprehend. He'd never met Blaine's parents, obviously, but somehow he got the feeling that their beautiful and talented son could somehow never live up to their expectations.

"I mean it," he finally said, being sure to look into Blaine's eyes.

Then, because he knew he would be cutting it dangerously close to curfew, he leaned in closer and placed one last kiss on Blaine's lips. He let it linger for quite a while, but it still wasn't nearly enough for either of them.

"I love you," Blaine whispered as they broke away, reminding him one last time. His face melted into a smile and his tone grew softer as he continued. "Make sure you watch Sullivan this Sunday."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kurt told him with another proud smile. "I love you so much, Blaine. I'll always be proud of you."

They shared one last kiss, unable to resist the temptation to do so, and finally forced themselves to break away. Neither of them said a word as Kurt, an apologetic smile on his face, turned and stepped out into the hallway.

When the door closed behind him, Blaine was pretty sure he felt his own heart break.


	10. Chapter 10

10

It was a very long, very boring drive to New York City, but to Blaine it seemed even longer than it was. He'd originally considered flying there, but he had never been a huge fan of airplanes, and David insisted that he didn't mind the seemingly interminable drive. But less than an hour into the trip, Blaine was really starting to wish that he'd flown there instead. Flying would have gotten him to New York much faster, which meant that he would have had more to distract him from the fact that Kurt wasn't here.

But no, he'd _had _to insist on being driven there. He tried thinking about all the oh-so-fun-and-exciting things he had coming up – his concert in New York, his appearance on Ed Sullivan – but no matter what he thought about, his mind always kept on coming back to Kurt. He wished he could at least _call _Kurt, just to hear his voice, but that would require asking David to pull over and stop, and Blaine didn't really want to be a bother. So he stayed silent in the backseat, lost in his lovesick thoughts.

He didn't even touch the folded-up note Kurt had given him until they crossed the state border into Pennsylvania. Now that they were officially no longer in the same state, Blaine thought, it was probably appropriate to read it. He flipped open his lyric notebook sitting on the seat beside him, rifling through the pages until he came to the spot where he'd slipped Kurt's note.

Blaine wasn't sure why his palms were so sweaty as he unfolded the small square of paper. He knew Kurt loved him and had every intention of carrying on this relationship, so why was he so nervous? He tried to push his anxieties aside and focused on the painfully simple task of unfolding the piece of paper.

Something fell out of the note and fluttered into his lap when he finally managed to get the paper opened up. Without even stopping to think about what it could be, Blaine picked it up and his heart almost stopped when he got a good look at it.

It was a small photograph of Kurt – a school portrait, from the looks of it. Kurt was wearing a tie and smiling just a tiny bit with his mouth closed and looking so stunningly handsome that Blaine actually drew back a gasp that must have been audible, because suddenly David was saying, "You all right, Daddy-O?"

Blaine fumbled to turn the picture over so David couldn't see it if he turned around. "Peachy keen."

His voice was shaky and he knew David probably didn't believe him, but thankfully his driver didn't question him any further. After a few silent seconds, Blaine carefully looked at the picture again.

Kurt looked so beautiful. Blaine knew it was just a simple school portrait, taken in front of a nondescript backdrop that had probably been set up in the cafeteria or gymnasium, but the fact that Kurt had actually given Blaine a picture of himself seemed so intensely personal and Blaine absolutely loved it.

He turned the picture over to see if there was anything on the back. The words _Kurt, class of '57 _were written in Kurt's cramped scrawl near the top in black pen, but underneath that small line of lettering there was more – same handwriting, different ink, suggesting that these last few words must have been added at a later time.

_You are always on my mind and in my heart. Please don't forget me. xoxo Kurt_

Those two sentences alone were enough to touch Blaine's heart, but then he remembered that he still had an entire note to read through. He set the photograph on the seat beside him and began to read the letter.

_My dear Blaine,_

These past few days have been the thrill of a lifetime and the fact that you're leaving town early tomorrow morning actually hurts to think about. I'm writing this while listening to your record and thinking about how lucky I am to have gotten to know you like I did. I was just one fan in a crowd of thousands and somehow you noticed me. I don't know what I did to deserve your affection and trust, but I promise I will never betray it. What has transpired between us over the past few days can only be described as beautiful. I told you things I never thought I'd tell anyone, let alone my absolute favorite singer, and I'm so unbelievably thankful that I got to spend this time with you and tell you some of my craziest secrets. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that you like boys like I do, because I always felt like there was something wrong with me. It's even harder to believe that out of all the boys out there, you chose _me__._

I love you, Blaine. I know that, as of right now while I write this, we haven't actually said those words to each other yet. I don't even know if we'll say them tonight when we're together. But just in case we don't, I think you deserve to know how I feel. And I don't just love you in the same way that every single other fan loves you – because you're beyond handsome and you sing like a dream. I love you because of so much more than that. I don't even think I can adequately explain my love for you in words, but I guess I can try. I love you for _all__ that you are – not just for the side of you that everybody else this side of the mainstream media sees. I love all the things about you that none of the other fans know. I love that you never learned how to drive. I love that you have a newfound appreciation for chocolate milkshakes after our first little "date." I love you for the part of you that just wants to be a normal teenager sometimes. I love how your eyebrows are kind of shaped like adorable little triangles. I love that you like boys. I love YOU, Blaine Anderson. I know you hear that all the time, but please know that I don't mean it in the same way the other fans do. At all._

I apologize if I sound insane. Also, I know you probably don't love me back, because I'm pretty sure it's impossible for someone as amazing as you to feel that strongly about a nobody like me. But like I said, I thought you deserved to know how I feel.

Anyway, I hope this little note made your trip a little more bearable. I already know I'm going to miss you so much while you're gone on the rest of your tour, but at the same time, I'm so excited and thrilled for you because you are amazing and you've worked so hard to get to where you are now. I don't know when we'll see each other again, but I _do__ know that I'll never forget the time we spent together this summer and once we find out when we'll be reunited, I will be eagerly counting the minutes until that day. Thank you for sharing yourself with me on so many levels over these past few days. I know I'll never forget our time together for as long as I live._

I'll stop writing now so you can go on and conquer the world. I am so proud of you and I always will be.

Love,  
Kurt

Blaine hadn't even realized he was crying until a single tear slipped out of his eye and landed with a tiny splash on the page. Kurt's words did unimaginable things to Blaine's heart and made him miss his boy even more than he already did. He wanted Kurt with him so badly that it hurt.

Without even thinking about how strange he must have looked to David, Blaine raised the sheet of paper closer to his face and inhaled deeply, another tear slipping from his eye when he caught a whiff of Kurt's cologne. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then opened them again and glanced at Kurt's beautiful face smiling up at him from his school picture on the seat. Blaine knew it was probably ridiculous to be feeling this strongly about someone he'd only known for a couple of days, but at the same time, he _knew _he loved Kurt and there was nothing wrong with missing the person one loved.

"You sure everything's okay, man?" David's voice asked from the front seat, snapping Blaine out of his lovesick reverie in a fraction of a second.

Blaine swallowed. "I promise I'm fine…could you please pull over somewhere that has a phone? I need to make a call."

David responded with a cheerful _Righto _that Blaine didn't really hear because his mind had been consumed with thoughts of Kurt almost immediately after he'd finished speaking. It was enough to hold him over until David pulled off the main road into a small town, navigating through the unfamiliar streets until he spotted a small phone booth on the corner.

"How's this?" he asked, and Blaine made to open the door without saying a word in response before realizing that he was forgetting something. He cursed under his breath and unzipped the suitcase that was on the backseat beside him and pulled out the items he'd purposely stuffed the closest to the top – a black fedora, which he shoved onto his head and pulled down over his face as much as possible, and a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his eyes. He couldn't risk being recognized, not when they had somewhere to be, and especially not when he needed to have a private conversation with the boy he loved.

Blaine got out of the car and hurried into the phone booth, stopping for just a moment to catch his breath after pulling the door shut behind him, then immediately picking up the receiver and inserting the proper number of coins. He mindlessly twirled his finger around the rotary dial, spoke monotonously to the operator, and tapped his foot impatiently while waiting for his call to be connected.

It seemed that an entire lifetime could have passed before he heard a voice that, if he hadn't known any better, he could have sworn belonged to an angel. "Hello?"

"Kurt, it's me," he replied breathlessly, his voice embarrassingly choked with tears as he spoke. "I-I just read your note and I'm calling from a public phone booth somewhere in Pennsylvania."

"You read it?" Kurt's voice was edged with happy hopefulness. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it. Kurt, I…"

He trailed off, not exactly sure what he could possibly say that wouldn't make him sound like a blubbering lovesick fool.

"I love _you_," he finally finished.

"I love you, too," Kurt giggled. Blaine practically swooned at the thought of how adorable he must have looked. "I think I've made that more than clear by now, but it's definitely worth repeating."

"Call me selfish, but I love hearing you say it," Blaine told him. "And thanks for the picture, too. You look amazing in it, but that's nothing new."

Kurt giggled bashfully. "Oh, that old thing? It's almost a year old by now. It's from this past school year, when I was a junior. I'll have to send you a copy of my senior portrait when I get it taken in a few months."

"I'd like that," Blaine admitted. "Anything to remind me of my boy while I'm gone and on the road."

He shot a furtive glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody nearby could have heard what he'd just said. Luckily, there wasn't a soul in sight – it was a hot summer's day and most people were either inside or at the community pool, since the sweltering heat made it difficult to enjoy doing anything else.

"I miss you so much," Blaine continued. His voice was quiet and he wasn't even sure why. "I would give anything to have you come to New York with me this weekend."

"Oh, Blaine, I wish I could go." The desperation in Kurt's soft voice broke Blaine's heart. "But it would be way too complicated to explain to my dad where I was going, and he'd want to know who I was going with, and I'm afraid I would slip up and end up spilling our secret. I can't risk that happening."

"I understand," Blaine said, nodding a little bit even though Kurt couldn't see. "There's so much about _us _that we have to keep secret, but I'm willing to work through that if it means I get to stay with you."

"It'll be worth it," Kurt agreed, "especially when we get to see each other again at the end of the summer. Hopefully."

His voice was edged with so much hope that in _that _exact moment, Blaine decided that he was absolutely going to return to Ohio at the end of August to see Kurt again, no matter what it took. Blaine _needed _to be with him, not just because of the physical pleasure that came with their relationship – but because Kurt made him feel happy and normal, which were two things Blaine never thought he'd feel in their entirety ever again after his rise to superstardom. He adored the way Kurt made him feel – he adored _Kurt _– and he would think of some excuse to go back to Ohio and meet with him in secret, even if they only got to see each other for a day. One day would be better than nothing.

"What do you mean, 'hopefully'?" Blaine asked in response. He hoped Kurt could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm _going _to see you, Kurt. I will do whatever it takes to make sure it happens. I just want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too, Blaine," Kurt said softly. "I just want to be in your arms and I want to kiss you…and if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind making love with you again, either."

Blaine gripped the phone receiver so tightly that his knuckles turned pale as an overload of pleasant memories from the previous evening began floating into his head. He remembered how stunningly beautiful Kurt had looked when he was naked; the tight heat of him; the way he'd looked when he reached his climax, sweaty and strung out and _wailing _Blaine's name; the ease with which he'd fit into Blaine when they made love the second time. Blaine had always assumed he'd lose his virginity to some girl he'd eventually (and reluctantly) go steady with, just to appease his parents and the general public, and up until the previous evening he'd thought that his first time was going to be awkward and humiliating and just outright awful. He never imagined it would be as perfect as it had been, and he'd certainly never imagined the ideal perfect-world situation – that it would be with a boy. As it turned out, though, the dream that Blaine hadn't even dared to dream had come true.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked hesitantly, snapping him out of his sensual daydream.

"God, sorry, now I just can't stop thinking about it. Last night was _phenomenal_, Kurt," he gushed brazenly. "I'm so glad my first time was with you. _So _glad. It was everything I'd always secretly wanted but never thought I could ever have. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to doing that again."

He paused for a moment, all of a sudden keenly aware of his surroundings and the fact that just the mere _thought_ of having more amazing sex with Kurt was making him hard.

"And now I'm having thoughts that are definitely _not _appropriate to be having in a public phone booth on a street in a strange town," he admitted.

Kurt giggled and Blaine was struck with amazement at how he could go from being so devastatingly naughty to sounding like the most adorable boy when he laughed. "Well, that could be a very awkward situation if anyone overheard."

"Nobody's nearby," Blaine told him. "Thank _god_. I should probably get going, though…I don't want to make David wait for me any longer. He probably wants to get on the road."

"Oh, no, I understand," Kurt said, and Blaine could tell he'd sensed the apologetic reluctance in his voice. "When you get a free moment in New York, call me and let me know you got there all right. Something about the thought of you being on the road driving all day just worries me and I don't know why."

It was Blaine's turn to laugh. "I think it's sweet how you worry about me, but don't stress yourself out," he told Kurt. "But if you want me to give you a bell, then I will."

"Oh, yes. Please." The eagerness in Kurt's voice was absolutely adorable. "It'll be nice just to hear your voice."

"Then go put on one of my records, lie down and close your eyes. That can be me singing to you," Blaine instructed him gently. "Will that hold you over?"

The biggest smile was evident in Kurt's voice as he responded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Okay. Go do that," Blaine told him, then hesitated a moment. "I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too, Blaine." Kurt's voice was overflowing with love as he repeated the sentiment. "I'm going to go let you serenade me now, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," Blaine giggled. "I'll talk to you later."

They said their goodbyes and Blaine hung up his end of the receiver. He felt like he was walking on air as he stepped out of the phone booth and headed toward where he saw that David had parked the car, against the curb and down the street a little ways. Most other singers would probably be thrilled beyond belief to be in his position – on his way to New York City to perform a concert and appear on the Ed Sullivan show – but right now, that was the furthest thing from Blaine's mind. Talking to Kurt had left him in an inexplicably good mood – one might say he had been inspired.

"Whoever you were just talkin' to obviously put a spring in your step," David observed as Blaine slid into the backseat of the Cadillac, pulling the door shut behind him.

Blaine was so blissed out and lovesick that he thought there was no harm in sharing just the tiniest tidbit of information with his driver-turned-friend.

"Remember how I kind of mentioned a few days back that I might have a sweetheart?" he asked rhetorically. "That's who it was."

"Ah." David nodded. "I figured as such."

To Blaine's intense delight, he didn't press any more questions. Blaine wasn't sure he'd be in the right state of mind to answer even if he had. This was one of those moments – where his muse struck and gave him the perfect idea for a song, and he had to get it all written down before the snippets of lyric and melody faded from his head.

He grabbed his notebook off the seat next to him and flipped it open to a blank page. Just for good measure, he picked up Kurt's school picture and placed it on the sheet of paper next to where he was going to write. It couldn't hurt to have his inspiration right there, smiling up at him from the page.

After rooting around in his bag for a few seconds, he finally came up with a pen. Then, without even thinking about what he was putting down on the paper, he began to write, letting the words flow straight from his heart, through the pen and onto the page.


	11. Chapter 11

The song is this chapter is an original work, written by yours truly. I've never really tried writing a song before, so please bear with me if it sucks (I know it does). It doesn't really have a tune, so feel free to make up your own. :D

Also, please don't kill me for the cliff hanger.

* * *

11

Blaine's concert in New York that Saturday night was apparently so good that it earned a mention near the bottom of the front page of the Sunday paper, beneath the headline _Anderson thrills Big Apple crowd with sultry looks, smooth tunes_. Kurt caught sight of it that morning as he and his father were enjoying a quiet breakfast together, choking on his orange juice when he caught sight of the small picture of Blaine onstage that accompanied the article.

Burt lowered the paper from in front of him and passed Kurt some napkins across the table so he could clean himself up. "You all right there, son?"

Kurt nodded, feeling a furious blush burning his face as he wiped the juice off his chin. "Fine."

"I'm not just talking about choking on the juice," Burt coaxed. "You sure you're doing okay just…in general? You seem a little distracted lately, and you were on the phone for a long time the other night."

Kurt remembered all too well. He'd practically jumped over the sofa like a track hurdle in order to get to the phone before his father did, earning him a quizzical look from Burt. Just as he'd predicted, it had been Blaine calling to let him know that he'd made it to New York safe and sound. He didn't even want to think about the excuse he would have had to make up if, God forbid, Burt had answered the phone and heard Blaine Anderson's voice.

"Yeah, I swear I'm fine," Kurt mumbled hastily. He shoved a whole strip of bacon into his mouth to avoid having to say anything more, but of course his concerned father kept prodding.

"Kurt, I know I'm not the best at holding a conversation, but you're my son and I care about you. If something's bothering you, I want to know."

"I said everything's fine!" Kurt practically shouted, his voice louder than he'd intended it to be.

Burt looked at him in stunned silence for a moment. Kurt normally wasn't the type to lash out so harshly; he knew something had to be up.

Kurt bit his lip and broke the silence. This time when he spoke, his voice was much quieter. "Sorry."

"Look, I don't want to pressure you to talk about anything, but d'you think you can at least tell me what that hour-long phone call the other night was about? Don't forget, kiddo, I'm the one who's gotta pay the bill at the end of the month." But it wasn't the thought of the inevitable monstrosity of a phone bill that worried Burt. Kurt had never spent that much time on the phone with _anyone_, so he figured that if he could at least figure out who his son had been talking to, he might be able to pick up a hint as to why he'd been acting so different.

"Okay," Kurt sighed after a while. "It was…that gi-girl I've been seeing, the one I went on a few dates with. S-she went to New York City this weekend. With her family." _That seems reasonable_.

"Ah." Burt nodded as he put two and two together. "You miss her?"

Kurt thought he might just throw up if he had to keep pretending Blaine was a girl, but he knew he had to go along with it in order to avoid making his father suspicious. "Yeah, I do. I-I'm in love, Dad."

His eyes lit up and his face was touched with the sweetest smile Burt had seen since his wife passed away. Kurt had Liz's smile, and her eyes, and her ability to bring light and happiness to everyone she met. Burt didn't know this mystery person who his son had been dating, but anyone who could make Kurt light up like this was a rarity.

"Good for you," he told Kurt, nodding in approval. "I'm happy for you. Whoever makes you this happy is obviously pretty special."

Kurt felt tears welling up in his eyes. His father had no idea how much those words meant to him, because he could never know the truth.

"Thanks, Dad." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"No problem, son." Burt stood up from the table and clapped Kurt on the shoulder as he went to put his plate in the sink. "You coming to the shop with me today?"

Kurt shrugged. He had nothing of importance to do until later tonight when Blaine's appearance on _Ed Sullivan _aired, so he figured he might as well go and help his father out so he could take his mind off of things. "Sure."

"All right, let's get a move on. I'm going upstairs to change and then I'm heading over there."

Kurt was already wearing a t-shirt and an old pair of jeans he didn't care about. "I'll just head over right now. I'll meet you there."

As he walked down the street to the auto shop and for the rest of the afternoon as he tinkered with the cars, he couldn't help but wonder what Blaine was doing right at that exact moment.

xxx

Blaine closed his eyes as some makeup girl who worked behind the scenes at _Ed Sullivan _dusted some kind of powder all over his face to get him ready for the cameras. Unfortunately, there was no way to block his ears, which meant that he still had to put up with his father's incessant babbling from two feet away.

"…and make sure to hold off on the vibrato when you get to the hook. That part of the song needs to sound very smooth, Blaine. Keep your voice even and watch your pitch when you get to the key change for the last chorus…"

William Anderson liked to think he knew everything about music just because he was the one who had gotten Blaine his very first recording contract when his son was just thirteen years old. In reality, though, he hadn't really done much at all. Blaine was the one who had always had a passion for music (and a habit of singing in the shower) and had entered a school talent show on a dare from his friends. He ended up placing first. William had merely used his connections as a prominent New York City businessman to hook his son up with a record deal because he thought he might be able to cash in on Blaine's success. Blaine knew full well that his father cared more about the money than about the fact that his son was finally doing something amazing with his talents.

"Are you listening to a word I'm saying, Blaine?" William snapped out of the blue.

Blaine's eyes flew open, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the makeup girl who had apparently messed up powdering his face when he did so. His father was standing right in front of his chair, arms crossed sternly across his chest, looking impatient.

"Yeah, yes, I am," Blaine said hastily. He decided that right now might not be the best moment to inform his father that he wasn't going to be performing "Dancin' the Night Away," the newest hit single from his most recent album. In fact, the song that he'd be singing was something that nobody had ever heard before.

"You'd better," William informed him sternly. "Performing on _Ed Sullivan _is a big deal, Blaine. Only the best and most talented performers in the world get this kind of opportunity."

"I realize that," Blaine mumbled flatly.

"I don't know if you do. You certainly sounded awfully shaky during 'Your Sweet Love' last night…"

Blaine would be the first to admit that he'd gotten a little choked up the previous evening while performing what was supposed to be a fun, lighthearted track about young love from his most recent album. He would _not _admit, however, that he'd started tearing up shortly after beginning the song because it reminded him of Kurt. If he'd gotten that worked up singing a song that he'd originally written just for the sake of writing a catchy tune, he couldn't imagine what would happen tonight when he performed a song that he'd written for someone he actually loved.

"My allergies came back yesterday," Blaine lied. "I guess they must have picked that song to kick in. My eyes were watering the whole time."

"Don't let that happen tonight," his father instructed. "You need to control yourself. 'Dancin' the Night Away' has the potential to go gold, Blaine. Gold! Do you know how many artists your age can say they have a certified gold record?"

"Not very many, I suppose," Blaine said monotonously.

"None! No other sixteen year old on the planet has a gold record, Blaine. I just saw the numbers yesterday and you're pretty damn close to making history. This performance will just be the last push we need to get there…"

_Not "we," _Blaine had always wanted to tell him, _I__. The last push __I__ need to get that gold record. This has nothing to do with you_. But he couldn't say that, because then his father would accuse him of being an ungrateful brat who'd been corrupted by show business. So he kept his mouth shut, because that was often the easiest thing to do wherever his father was concerned.

William kept rambling on and on about "Dancin'" and how much endorsement money they could get when it was certified as gold, because _everyone _would want to have Blaine Anderson, the sixteen-year-old gold-record-making sensation, selling their product. Blaine closed his eyes again to tune him out as more makeup was applied to his face. He let his mind wander to thoughts of Kurt.

Kurt. Damn, even the thought of his gorgeous face was enough to make Blaine smile. Luckily he caught himself in time and bit his lip to hide his grin so that his father wouldn't get suspicious. Blaine was so content to reminisce about the indeterminable color of Kurt's exquisite eyes and the soft warmth of his lips that he was no longer afraid of the consequences of what he was about to do. He was well aware of the fact that he would have a lot of explaining to do to his father later on, when William inevitably confronted him and demanded to know why he hadn't performed "Dancin'." But this didn't even bother him at all anymore, because he was confident that Kurt would love his brand new song more than any other track Blaine had ever written.

If he had to keep everything about this a secret, he thought, he might as well have fun and express himself while doing so.

xxx

Kurt parked himself in front of the television just a few minutes before eight o'clock, not wanting to miss a single moment of the show since he wasn't exactly sure when Blaine would be appearing. During their most recent phone conversation two days ago, Blaine had made Kurt promise that he'd watch the show and although Kurt had complied, he had to wonder what, exactly, Blaine was so excited about that he wanted Kurt to see so badly.

And of course, his father picked the perfect moment to walk into the room and start asking questions – right as Ed Sullivan himself was starting things off and Kurt was listening intently to hear if he mentioned Blaine at all in the introduction.

"Since when do you watch _Ed Sullivan_?" Burt Hummel was staring at the television set in disbelief.

Kurt responded hastily without tearing his eyes away from the screen. "Since now."

"I'm just surprised you're not on the phone again with that girl you're so smitten with," Burt commented. "Does she like this show or something?"

Kurt clenched his teeth in annoyance. As much as he loved his dad, he really needed for him to shut up. "I dunno."

It didn't answer his father's question at all, especially considering the fact that there was no girl in New York, but Kurt didn't care. Unfortunately for him, his father kept right on talking.

"Hey, I think I heard they're supposed to have that Blaine Anderson fella on here tonight. Don't you have a couple of his records?" Right as he spoke, an earsplitting scream erupted from the audience on television in response to something Sullivan had said. Kurt knew he must have just mentioned something about Blaine. No other performer could elicit such excitement from an audience with the mere mention of his name.

"Yeah, I do, he's got some good sounds." _Please, Dad, shut up shut up shut up_.

"I think so, too. I caught one of his songs on the radio the other day – 'Dancin' the Night Away' or something like that," Burt rambled. "Pretty catchy tune. And they said if he sells just a couple thousand more records, he'll be the youngest artist ever to have a certified gold record."

This was news to Kurt. He turned to face his father, trying desperately hard not to let himself beam with pride and joy for the boy he loved. "Really?"

"Yup. I say, good for him. He seems like a nice kid from what I hear, and he's got some talent." Burt settled himself on the couch beside Kurt. "Mind if I watch this with you?"

_Yes. _"No."

Thankfully, Burt didn't say much from that point on. Aside from occasionally commenting on a performance or song, he kept his mouth shut. Still, when Sullivan announced that teen sensation Blaine Anderson would be up next after the commercial break, Kurt moved from the couch to the floor. He insisted it was more comfortable, but really he'd moved so that his father wouldn't be able to see the inevitably lovesick expression that would cloud his face when Blaine finally appeared.

After the longest commercial break of Kurt's life, the show was back.

"Next up we have one of the freshest and most innovative faces in music today," Sullivan informed the viewers. "This young man is already on his way to breaking records and making history. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Blaine Anderson."

Another deafening scream from the female fans in the audience screeched through the television speakers. The second Blaine was shown onstage, sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar in his lap, Kurt's heart skipped a few beats. Blaine looked absolutely beautiful and so genuinely happy that it almost brought tears to Kurt's eyes.

"Thank you, Mr. Sullivan." As if Blaine's appearance alone hadn't completely melted Kurt, the sound of his voice sure did it. "First of all I want to apologize to all of you watching tonight, both here in the studio audience and at home. I know you all were expecting to hear 'Dancin' the Night Away' – and I'm so thrilled and thankful that you all have given that record such amazing support – but I've made a last minute decision to perform a different song tonight."

Kurt could hear a quiet gasp in the audience. He didn't even realize he was holding his own breath.

"I wrote this song just two days ago," Blaine said, "when I was in the car on my way here to New York City. I wrote it for someone who is very, very special to me. I'm not going to name names, but as for the person who I wrote this for…you know exactly who you are."

His eyes were focused right on the camera as he spoke, giving the impression that he was looking right at Kurt through the television screen. Kurt could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

"And I just want to tell you this," Blaine continued, still looking straight at the camera. "I love you, I miss you, and I can't wait to see you again. I hope you enjoy this song."

Kurt made a fist and pressed it to his mouth to hold back the embarrassingly loud sob that he knew was threatening to escape. His shoulders were shaking and he knew his father could probably tell from where he sat on the couch, but Kurt didn't even care. Blaine had just told Kurt that he loved him on national television in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers. He was so passionate and so brave and – oh, yes, there were the tears. Kurt could already feel them leaking out of his eyes and Blaine hadn't even started the song yet.

Blaine strummed a few introductory chords on his guitar before bringing his face closer to the microphone that had been placed in front of his stool. As he began to sing, Kurt trembled even more as his love's beautiful voice washed over him.

"I wish I could shout it out loud

But there's no way that I can

Let everyone know that I'm your man

I wish I could hold you close to me tonight

Guess I'll just settle for looking at the moonlight

And wondering if I really make you proud."

_You do_, Kurt thought, completely spellbound by the power of Blaine's voice even from hundreds of miles away. _You make me so proud, Blaine_.

"It may not be easy, it's a bit of a struggle

And others would wonder if it's worth the trouble

But I love you, I need you, for all that it's worth

And I'd follow you to the ends of the earth."

Kurt felt a single runaway tear fall out of his eye, landing directly on the carpet next to him. Thankfully, his father didn't seem to notice. It was getting harder and harder not to completely break out in tears, and Blaine wasn't even finished yet.

"We have so many secrets and so much to hide

But your love is a dream come true

And I just want to be with you

You're even beyond my wildest dreams

Sometimes it's still hard for me to believe

Until I see the look in your eyes."

This was, without a doubt, the most incredible thing anyone had ever done for Kurt, and he knew it. Granted, nobody else in the world but the two of them knew who Blaine's song was about, but that just made it all the more romantic. It was like the two of them had their own little secret being broadcast across national television, and nobody else on earth knew what it meant.

"Then I see beyond a doubt that this is real

There's no way I can deny these things I feel

I love you, I need you, for all that it's worth

And I'd follow you to the ends of the earth

I love you, I need you, for all that it's worth

And I'd follow you to the ends of the earth."

xxx

Blaine bowed humbly as he finished the song and the crowd erupted in yet another deafening scream. He was about to acknowledge the camera, maybe send Kurt a little smile, but by the time he looked back up, the curtain had already fallen.

He handed his guitar to a stage hand and rushed offstage, determined to get back to his dressing room before his father spotted him. He knew he'd have a hell of a lot of explaining to do, but the stress of dealing with his father would all be worth it later tonight when he called Kurt to see what he'd thought of the song. Kurt's voice could calm him down and soothe him like nothing else.

Thankfully, it didn't take him much time at all to reach his dressing room. Once inside, he shut and locked the door before leaning up against it to catch his breath with a huge smile on his face. The thrill of declaring his love for Kurt so publicly, even if nobody else would know what his song was about, had given him an unspeakable adrenaline rush. As silly as it seemed, he felt like he could sprint all the way back to Ohio, right into Kurt's arms with all the energy he suddenly had.

And of course, he was immediately shot down from his high by a sudden knock at the door accompanied by his father's gruff voice.

"Blaine!" A few more incessant knocks. "I know you're in there. Open this door right now."

Blaine rolled his eyes and started speaking the second he'd pulled the door open. "Okay, I know you're seeing red because I didn't sing 'Dancin',' but I—"

"You bet I am. What in the _world _were you thinking, Blaine? You can't just go around singing songs that nobody even knows when you have a perfectly good song that's about to go gold – and not only that, but to drop all those hints about it being for a 'special someone.' Who is the song about, Blaine?"

Blaine told the truth at first. "It's about someone I met on tour." _You wouldn't know; you never come on tour with me. You always stay here in New York_.

"A girl, I hope?" William Anderson asked in response.

Blaine nodded, giving his father the safe, satisfactory and completely untrue response he'd been wanting. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because I still remember what happened when you were younger," his father said. "When you insisted that you'd seen a 'pretty boy' at your school. I'm just making sure that song wasn't some kind of disgusting homosexual love ballad."

Blaine scoffed, as if this were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "No way, Dad, why would I do that?"

"I'm just making sure you're healed," his father told him gruffly, as if Blaine had had some kind of communicable disease.

"It's not like that," Blaine swore. He crossed his arms to hide his sweaty palms. "I know it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing to do that new song, but I think this could bring great publicity. It'll really get people talking."

"Talking about what? It'll all be speculation, Blaine. Don't you realize you'll have to explain your love life to every single reporter you talk to from here on out? It'll take the focus away from your music and we can't have that. You're not going to sell many records by selling yourself out as some mysterious celebrity instead of as a legitimate musician."

Blaine sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I get it, I made a mistake. Can you please leave me alone? I'm not feeling well."

The last part was a lie – he was actually feeling quite fine, but all he wanted was to be alone.

His father was still staring at him, so Blaine scrambled for an explanation that would appease him. "If I don't rest up now, I'll be a mess at my shows later this week. Nobody will want to buy my records if I sound sick."

"Fine." William turned away, but not without calling one last reprimand over his shoulder to his son. "Think about what you've done, Blaine. I'm very disappointed in you."

Blaine closed the door behind him and slid down into a sitting position against it on the floor. He leaned his head back and did exactly what his father had instructed him to do – he thought about what he'd done.

He'd sang a song for the boy he loved in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers on national television. He saw no reason to be disappointed with that.

xxx

When the phone rang later that night, Burt Hummel had the feeling that his son would beat him to it. He didn't even bother picking up the receiver; he knew full well that Kurt had already answered the call on the landline he had up in his room. If the caller needed to talk to Burt, he figured Kurt would simply let him know.

He glanced at the clock and realized that it was already after ten. Normally Burt stayed up until around eleven, but he had to be at the shop early the next day so he thought it would be wise to get to bed. He started heading up the stairs to the master bedroom, but he heard something coming from Kurt's room that stopped him cold.

There was a sniffling noise, and when Burt listened for a moment longer, he could hear actual sobs. Kurt was crying.

"No, no, don't be sorry," his son's muffled voice said to the person with whom he was talking on the phone. "I loved it."

Okay. Maybe Burt shouldn't have been so worried. Kurt was obviously okay; he was just crying happy tears as he talked about something he'd apparently loved. Burt was about to turn away from the closed door and continue down the hall when he heard Kurt speak again.

"Yes, I mean it. It was so beautiful, Blaine. I…I can't believe you actually just sang a song about me on national television…this is _incredible_."

Blaine?

The only Blaine that Burt could think of was Blaine Anderson, the teen heartthrob who had performed a mysterious song about forbidden love earlier that evening on _Ed Sullivan_. Burt knew Kurt liked his music, and he'd even gone to one of his concerts earlier in the month, but why would his son be _talking _to the national singing sensation on the phone?

And more importantly, why had Blaine written a song about him? They couldn't possibly be…

"Nobody has to know it was about me," he heard Kurt say with a little giggle. "Let them think what they want. You and I…we know the truth."

The truth? What was the truth?

Kurt's voice was soft, barely audible as he spoke again after a few seconds. "And I love you. I still can't believe this is happening…that we're actually together."

Burt had to reach out and grip the edge of the doorway to keep himself from falling over in shock. Suddenly all the pieces were starting to fall into place.

Kurt had never been out on a date in his life, until _after _the Blaine Anderson concert. Kurt had been extremely on edge and seemed almost nervous whenever Burt tried to talk to him, especially about his new dating life. Kurt had been making frequent long distance phone calls to New York. Kurt had watched _Ed Sullivan _for the first time in his life tonight.

It seemed impossible to Burt that his son could be so in love with another boy. Burt had seen the public service announcements on television – the ones that warned young men about dangerous predators known as homosexuals, because something in their mind made them think they were attracted to members of the same sex. The men in those commercials were portrayed as sick perverts and pedophiles, even murderers in some extreme cases. Kurt couldn't possibly be _that _sick in the head…

Burt knew it was a total disregard to his son's privacy, but he stood there and listened to Kurt's end of the conversation for a few more minutes. Curiosity had gotten the best of him, and since Burt himself didn't know too much about this so-called homosexuality, he wanted to make sure his son was okay. But the more he listened, the more he realized that Kurt was the furthest thing from some kind of sick sexual predator – he was an innocent boy in love. In fact, if Burt hadn't heard him mention Blaine's name, he would have thought his son was talking to a girl.

He figured Kurt must have met this Blaine kid at the concert somehow and they'd started some kind of affair. But what had caused the spark between them? Burt had no idea what could have possibly happened in his son's brain to make him find this Blaine fellow attractive enough to want some kind of relationship from him. Still, he didn't want to believe that Kurt was mentally ill or criminally insane or any of those other ridiculous things he'd seen on TV. It was all so incredibly hard to wrap his mind around, but at the same time, Burt had to admit that he hadn't heard Kurt sounding this happy in a long time.

Burt was so wrapped up in his thoughts, trying to sort out his confusion, that he was no longer paying attention to what Kurt was saying on the phone. He didn't hear his son say goodbye to the boy on the other end and declare his love one last time before they hung up. And he certainly wasn't expecting Kurt to walk across his bedroom and open the door, probably on his way to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for bed, only to find his father standing in the hallway.

Burt took one look at the horrified look on his son's face and immediately knew that _Kurt _knew that Burt had heard every word.

Kurt's face paled and his eyes went wide for a second before he squeezed them shut and turned his face away in shame. He started crying again, but this time Burt knew he was anything but happy.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Kurt was shaking so much he could hardly stand upright as he leaned up against his closed bedroom door and let tears pour down his face. What would his father think now that he knew Kurt's deepest, darkest secret? He knew full well he would never be able to look his dad in the eye ever again. Never in his life had he been more scared and ashamed – he knew his father had seen the public service announcements on television, and it was only a matter of time before he had Kurt committed to some kind of lunatic asylum.

And what would happen to his relationship with Blaine? Horrible scenarios began flashing through Kurt's mind – his father forbidding him to ever see or talk to his boy ever again, Blaine becoming heartbroken at the sudden end to their relationship without so much as an explanation from Kurt. He wasn't sure which terrified him the most – the thought of being labeled criminally insane by his father, or of having Blaine forcibly cut out of his life completely.

For some reason, he only started crying even harder when a knock at the door and his father's surprisingly calm voice startled him out of his trance.

"Kurt? Can you please open the door?"

"Why?" Kurt winced when he heard the caustic brokenness in his own voice as he responded to his father through the closed door.

Burt's voice was, by contrast, still very calm and even as he responded. "I'd like to talk to you."

"You already heard everything. Why don't you start making arrangements to have me admitted to the asylum?"

His father ignored Kurt's bitter sarcasm as he replied with firm honesty. "Why would I do that? I don't think you're insane."

The words made Kurt stop cold. He stopped trembling and even the tears falling down his face seemed to freeze on his cheeks. That was the last thing he had been expecting his father to say, but suddenly he was feeling just a tad less uneasy.

He warily reached out and pulled the door open, but just as he'd thought, he couldn't meet his father's eyes. The second he caught sight of Burt waiting patiently in the hallway, he cast his eyes down and didn't look up even as his father spoke.

"Kurt, you can look at me. I may not understand what's going on with you, but I don't think there's anything wrong with you because of it. Okay?"

Kurt's voice was flat and emotionless as he spoke. "But the commercials on television clearly say I am a criminally insane pedophile who likes to prey on innocent little boys. I need to be locked away."

"Come on, now. That's nonsense and you and I both know it," Burt told him. "Why don't you come downstairs? I'll make you some coffee and you and I can talk."

"I'm only coming for the coffee," Kurt insisted, but followed his father downstairs all the same.

Several minutes later, both Hummel men were seated at the tiny kitchen table, hands wrapped around mugs of black coffee. Kurt stared blankly at the dark liquid in his cup; he wouldn't dare be the first one to break the silence.

"So the song that that Blaine Anderson kid sang on _Sullivan _tonight," Burt began slowly after an awkwardly silent couple of minutes. "That was about you?"

Kurt nodded slowly without looking up or saying a word.

"Can you…tell me exactly what it is that's going on with you two? How did you even meet him, anyway?"

Kurt sincerely appreciated the fact that his father was being patient enough to actually _want _to talk about all of this with him. He decided he might as well do his part and contribute to the conversation.

"We met when he was signing autographs at the concert. For some reason, he wrote his hotel room phone number on the picture he signed for me," he said quietly. "I called him and…we decided that we wanted to see each other again. So we met up the next night and he admitted to me that he likes boys, just like I do. And…things kind of progressed from there."

"When you say you 'like boys,'" Burt asked carefully, trying to figure his son out, "does that mean you're attracted to _all _boys, or…how does that work?"

"It means I find men attractive. Not women. I know those stupid commercials say it's 'contagious' and whatnot, but I swear it's not a disease that I caught from someone. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. I swear to you I'm not sick, Dad. This is just…how I am."

"I never said you were sick," his father reminded him. "The people who make those television commercials don't know you. _I _do. If I thought something was wrong with you, believe me, I'd have taken you to some kind of doctor by now."

It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of Kurt's shoulders. "Oh, god, thank you for saying that."

"I mean it," his father told him. "Like I said before, I may not understand this, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. I'm just trying to figure this out."

Kurt bowed his head humbly. "Thank you for doing that. For actually talking to me and figuring this out for yourself, instead of believing what some hurtful public service announcement wants you to hear."

"Well, you're my son. I think I know you better than some public service whatever-the-hell that is on television. I'm not going to judge you just based on what they say."

Kurt, too overwhelmed to say anything, closed his eyes and let another tear roll down his cheek.

"Can you tell me anything else about your relationship with this boy?" Burt asked gently. "Like I said, I'm just trying to figure this out. I want to understand."

Kurt shrugged, not really sure what to say. "We hold hands. We snuggle. We kiss. We do all the same things that boy-girl couples do. There's really nothing different about us. We love each other the same way."

His voice was so choked with emotion that it was almost inaudible. Burt was quick to notice.

"You really love him, don't you?" he observed quietly.

Kurt nodded. "I love him so much, Dad. He's everything to me."

"I can tell," Burt pointed out. "And he loves you, too. I saw that look in his eyes when he was singing that song—"

"'Kurt's song,'" Kurt interrupted quietly. "On the phone he told me it was called 'Kurt's song.'"

"When he was singing 'Kurt's song' on television earlier," Burt continued. "I obviously didn't know what it was called, or that it was about you, but I could tell he really meant every single word he sang."

"He did," Kurt told him. "But nobody else knows. Nobody else _can _know. This has to be a secret."

"I promise to keep your secret," Burt swore. "I want you and him to be safe. I don't want anything bad happening to either of you."

He paused for a moment before continuing more carefully. "And what I told you this morning is still true. He must be a pretty special guy if he makes you this happy."

In the seventeen years that he'd known Kurt, Burt had never seen his son's eyes light up the way they did whenever he talked about Blaine. His face was absolutely glowing as he responded.

"I've never been this happy in my life, Dad. He's amazing…I am _so _lucky. I just…"

He trailed off and looked away, suddenly uneasy as he began to think that he'd said too much.

"You just what?" Burt asked gently.

Kurt sighed. He was lucky that his father had been so understanding and accepting thus far, but he _knew _that what he was about to say would be considered insane by anyone.

"I just want to have a future with him," Kurt whispered. "I want us to be able to live together someday and have a family, just like any other couple. I know it sounds crazy, and this would never be able to happen in a million years…but he's the kind of person I would want to marry."

"I don't think that sounds crazy," Burt told him with a shrug. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to marry the person you love."

"I wish everyone could understand that," Kurt said softly. "Why _can't _I marry him, or any other boy for that matter? It wouldn't hurt anybody. It wouldn't affect anyone's lives but our own. What makes our love any different than the love between a boy and a girl?"

He'd stopped crying, but there were still tears shining in his mesmerizing eyes as he spoke. He looked at his father in desperation, silently pleading for an answer. It broke Burt's heart to see his son looking at him that way, looking for answers that he couldn't give. He decided to do the best he could and give Kurt a sense of new hope.

"Someday people will come to realize that the way they think about these things now is absolutely ridiculous," he said optimistically. "They'll realize that the love you and Blaine share is special and beautiful. And who knows? Maybe you _will_ be able to marry him someday."

Kurt's voice was still saturated with tears, but he managed a smile. "God, I hope so."

"For now, you and Blaine just need to focus on loving each other. Don't listen to what anyone else says. If he makes you happy, that's all that matters."

Kurt gave a slight nod. "Okay."

"Good," Burt said, obviously satisfied. "Is he coming back here to Ohio on tour at all this summer?"

"No, but he's coming back at the end of next month to see me." Kurt was already smiling as he thought about seeing Blaine again, even though it wouldn't be for quite some time.

Burt returned his smile as he spoke. "He's more than welcome to stay here. I want to meet the guy who makes my son so happy."

"Really?" Kurt couldn't even believe what he was hearing. Most parents would never even dream of letting their son or daughter's significant other spend the night under their own roof.

"Yes, really. I know you two will be safe here. He won't have to worry about getting recognized out in public, and you'll be able to just _be _together without worrying about what a bunch of uptight idiots think."

Kurt was beyond overwhelmed at this point. His father's response had been so far beyond anything he'd expected; he wasn't even sure what to say.

"Thank you so much, Dad," he finally whispered. He'd said it enough, but it was worth repeating.

Burt smiled as Kurt leaned over to give him an appreciative hug. "You're welcome, son. You ever want to talk about something, you can come to me. Like I said, I'm not gonna judge you. Or him, for that matter."

His words only made Kurt hug him even tighter. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_."

He pulled away so he could look his father in the eye. "I promise I'll help pay the phone bill. We're going to be talking each other a lot. You can take it out of my salary at the shop."

Burt considered this for a second, knowing full well he would never be able to afford the bill at the rate they were currently going. "All right, that sounds fair."

"It's the least I can do," Kurt murmured, half to himself and half to Burt. "You've been so understanding and accepting and…I never expected this, so thank you."

"You're my son," Burt said simply. "If I didn't accept you completely for who you are, I'm not doing my job as a father."

"I can't wait for you to meet Blaine," Kurt said with a genuine smile. "You're going to love him, Dad. And he'll be so happy when I tell him that you're letting him stay here because you accept us."

"You'll talk to him tomorrow, right?" Burt asked.

"Of course. I'm planning on trying to talk to him every day, especially now that I'm helping pay the phone bill," Kurt told him. "Plus, I know I sound like a silly romantic, but I just like hearing his voice."

"It's not silly. That's exactly the way I was when I started dating your mother," Burt said. "When you love someone like that, just hearing their voice for a few seconds can make your entire day."

"I think that song tonight just made my entire _life_. I never thought anyone would ever do something that romantic for me," Kurt admitted.

"In that case, I'd say he's definitely a keeper." Burt stood up from the table, dumped his cold coffee in the sink, and turned to face his son. "Can I have another hug?"

Kurt happily stepped into his father's arms and hugged him. He'd never felt more safe or accepted than he did in that moment, and something gave him the feeling that everything was going to be just fine.

* * *

I can't write homophobic!Burt. I just can't.

Anyway, reviews are lovely! :)


	13. Chapter 13

13

As was the custom whenever he stayed in a hotel on tour, Blaine was awakened the next morning by the shrill ringing of the telephone. For a sleepy moment, he found himself hoping that it might be Kurt, and tried not to feel too disappointed when he drowsily picked up the receiver and listened to an important-sounding British man informing him that this was his eight a.m. wake-up call.

He thanked the man and hung up, immediately collapsing back against his pillow and drifting away into sleep yet again. He wasn't sure why he was so tired, but he thought that it might have something to do with the fact that today was his last day in New York City and he basically would be doing nothing but talking to the press all day. He could already picture the microphones being shoved into his face as rabid journalists shouted at him, demanding to know who the song he'd performed on _Sullivan _the previous evening had been about. He knew he would have to make something up in order to appease them. The mere thought of spending his day like this already exhausted him.

He must have eventually fallen back asleep, because suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door that startled him awake yet again.

"Come in," he called in the general direction of the door, too tired to get out of bed and open it himself. It was probably his father. The old man hadn't even wanted to share a hotel room with his son, not even one of the large, extravagant suites with two or three bedrooms. Blaine and his father weren't exactly close, but it still disappointed the younger Anderson to think that his own father would rather spend the extra money on his own room than share a suite with his son. Every night since he'd been in New York, Blaine had gone to sleep at night feeling more alone than ever.

The door opened and in stepped a skittish-looking woman dressed in a housekeeper's uniform. She was holding a silver tray stacked with so much food that merely looking at it made Blaine sick to his stomach. On any other occasion he would have gladly eaten every single bite, but today he didn't have much of an appetite at all.

"Your breakfast, Mr. Anderson," she informed him, her voice sounding just as nervous as she looked. She remained standing in the doorway, waiting for him to invite her further into the room. Blaine wondered for a delirious moment why this woman – who looked old enough to be his mother – had ended up working here, in one of the finest hotels in downtown Manhattan, as a lowly housekeeper carrying breakfast to a spoiled rotten sixteen-year-old international superstar.

They'd brought his breakfast to his room like this for the past few days that he'd been here, but for some reason now he was starting to realize how unnecessary it was. How many other teenagers on the planet got service like this? What made him so special just because he happened to be a good singer who had made a couple records?

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry, but I'm not feeling very good this morning," he told her apologetically, because it wasn't even a total lie. "I don't have much of an appetite. I feel terrible that you had to bring that all the way up here…"

She turned away without saying a word. Blaine got the impression that she was the kind of woman who had gotten so used to docile submission that she'd eventually decided to simply accept it. Before she could leave, he spoke up again as he suddenly got an idea.

"Have you eaten anything today?" he asked, and when she shook her head, he did his best to smile as he nodded at the tray. "That's yours."

For the first time since he'd seen her, the woman's face brightened into a genuine smile. "Thank you, Mr. Anderson. My shift starts so early and I never have time to get something to eat before I have to be here for work…thank you."

"No sweat," he told her, shrugging a little bit as she turned to leave again. "Enjoy the rest of your morning."

When she had left and the door was closed behind her once again, Blaine pulled the covers up around him and closed his eyes. This time, though, he was pretty much awake from his brief conversation with the housekeeper and sleep never returned.

He was still thinking, though, about why society had deemed him to be so entitled to the silliest things. It seemed wrong to him that he should be given special treatment just because of who he was, when there were hundreds of thousands of other people who toiled away at minimum-wage jobs and who may not have even had the time to eat breakfast in the morning before coming to work. He was sick and tired of fancy hotels and having food brought to his room by people whom society had deemed lesser than he. He was tired of speaking to the press, because he couldn't fathom what made his opinion so much more valid than that of any other boy his age. He was tired of not knowing how to drive and being called "Mr. Anderson." Ever since the wonderful time he'd spent with Kurt, he found himself aching more than ever for the chance to be a regular teenage boy.

Kurt had given him that opportunity during the precious few days they'd spent together, but like all good things, that time had come to an end and now it was as if Blaine had finally been snapped out of the trance which had captivated him for the past few years. Now that he'd finally had a taste – however brief – of what normal teenage life was like, he was thoroughly convinced that he would give up all the fame and fortune in a heartbeat if it meant he could go to school and drive and get in trouble for missing curfew like a normal sixteen-year-old. He'd been missing out on the normal teenage experience for so long, and now all his little perks and luxuries seemed extremely trite and unnecessary. He didn't need fancy hotels and personal breakfast room service and, although David had become a wonderful friend, he didn't need his own personal chauffeur. Blaine didn't need any of that.

What he needed was some tangible sense of normality. He needed Kurt.

With a quick glance at the clock – he must have fallen back asleep for quite a while after first waking up; it was almost a quarter to nine – he immediately reached over and picked up the phone on his bedside table. His fingers spun the rotary dial around to all the digits he now knew by heart, and his heart started to race faster and faster as he spoke to the operator and waited for the call to be connected.

But when the call was finally picked up on the other end, Blaine's heart sank when he realized that the voice that greeted him did not belong to Kurt.

"Hummel Tire & Lube, your car care experts for an easier ride. This is Burt speaking. How may I help you?"

Blaine knew that Kurt had mentioned once or twice that his father owned an auto repair shop. Now that he thought about it, it made sense that Mr. Hummel would answer the phone during business hours since the shop was presumably close to their home, but that didn't mean Blaine wasn't terrified all of a sudden.

For a moment, he considered apologizing and pretending he'd dialed the wrong number, then hanging up and calling back later when he had a better chance of Kurt answering. But for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to do that.

He must have been silent for a long time, because all of a sudden Burt Hummel was saying, "Hello?" again, probably thinking the call had somehow gotten dropped.

"Hello, Mr. Hummel," he said as politely as possible. "I, um…I was wondering if your son was available, and if he is, may I please speak to him?"

"Who's calling?" Burt asked in response, sounding understandably skeptical.

Blaine figured there was no point in lying. One of the disadvantages of being in the public eye was that he never knew who was able to recognize him, even by hearing his voice through the phone.

"My name is Blaine. Blaine Anderson," he said calmly, trying to keep his voice even. "I'm—"

"I know who you are," Burt Hummel said before Blaine could finish his thought with _I'm a friend of Kurt's_, or something equally vague. "Kurt told me about you."

This was the absolute last thing Blaine had expected to hear. His heart started speeding up again and he gripped the phone receiver so tightly that he thought he might shatter it in his hand.

"H-he did?" he asked in response, wondering why in the world Kurt would do such a thing.

"First of all, Blaine, I want you to know that I don't believe any of that garbage they show on television," Burt informed him, his voice firm but still polite. "I'm not going to judge you or Kurt or anyone like you. I don't think love is an illness or a mental disease. I want to be sure you know that."

There was silence while he waited for acknowledgment, so Blaine responded with the only thing that seemed appropriate: "Thank you."

"Kurt told me everything last night after I overheard part of your conversation on the phone with him," Burt continued. "I watched _Sullivan _with him last night and I noticed he was getting pretty worked up during your song, then when I heard the two of you talking, everything started to make sense. He was pretty upset when he realized that I'd heard him talking to you, but then he started spilling his heart out…and let me tell you, Blaine, I've never seen Kurt as happy as he was last night when he was talking about you. Never."

Blaine was silent for a moment, letting all of this sink in. Part of him knew that he should probably be wary of the fact that this man – essentially a complete stranger – was being so accepting and tolerant of what he shared with Kurt, but that uncertainty was immediately canceled out by an inexplicable feeling of trust. Blaine wasn't sure why, but he knew in his heart that Kurt's father was speaking the truth.

"I don't really know what to say," he admitted. "But I'm glad to hear that. All I want is for him to be happy."

"You don't have to worry about that," Burt assured him. "You make my son _so _happy, Blaine. I wish you could have seen the way he was smiling last night. His whole face just lit up when he was talking about you."

"I wish I could have seen it, too. His smile is so beautiful," Blaine sighed. "I…I love your son, Mr. Hummel. I mean that. I love Kurt with everything I have. He's the best thing that ever happened to me and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever did anything to hurt him."

"I know you love him. That song you sang last night for him on national television proved it," Burt told him. Something about the calmness of his voice was slowly putting Blaine at ease, and it was hard to be nervous now. "Which is why I personally want to let you know that you are more than welcome to stay here at our home whenever you come back to see him. I told Kurt last night that you both will be safe here. You don't have to worry about being recognized in public, and both of you will be able to do whatever the hell you want without worrying about what any close-minded bastard says."

At this point Blaine was almost thoroughly convinced that he'd fallen back asleep and had been dreaming this entire conversation. Burt Hummel's surprising acceptance had been shocking enough, but now Blaine had actually been invited into their home. Even if it was just for a few nights, he would be able to fall asleep in his boy's arms. They wouldn't have to worry about being recognized by fans or missing curfew. For those few days, they would be absolutely carefree.

"Gee, Mr. Hummel, this is too far out to be true," he said with complete bewilderment.

"Call me Burt. 'Mr. Hummel' just makes me sound old," Kurt's father told him, chuckling a little bit. "And I absolutely mean what I said. I may not know you that well, but you seem like a real good kid and you make Kurt smile like I've never seen before. The two of you deserve to be happy together."

"Thank you," Blaine told him with heartfelt gratitude. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I never dreamed anyone would be so accepting of the love that Kurt and I share and this is just…incredible."

"You're welcome," Burt told him humbly. "All right, I know you didn't call because you wanted to talk to me. Kurt's right here and I swear to God he's literally about to rip the phone out of my hand. I'd better put him on."

Blaine thought he could make out Kurt's muffled voice saying, "Yeah, you'd better," and he tried to suppress a giggle. He had barely even heard Kurt's voice, but the fact that his boy was _right there _made him unbelievably giddy. Still, he couldn't end his conversation with Burt without at least acknowledging his gratitude for Kurt's father's acceptance one more time, so that's exactly what he did.

"Thanks so much again. For everything," Blaine said humbly. "I'll see you soon."

He waited impatiently for a few seconds that may as well have been a lifetime while Burt handed the receiver to his son. The second Kurt's breathless, euphoric voice spoke through the phone, Blaine thought he was absolutely about to melt.

"Oh, Blaine, how wonderful is this? Did you ever imagine we'd be able to be together in one of our own homes?"

"I never did," Blaine admitted. "This is _so _amazing, Kurt. Did your dad really mean all that?"

"He did," Kurt said, a tearful smile evident in his voice. "I promise he did. He wants us both to be safe and happy together."

He paused all of a sudden before continuing warily. "But wait a second. What about _your _father? How are you going to convince him to let you come back here without getting suspicious?"

Surprisingly enough, Blaine had actually started to think about how he would go about doing that. He had an idea, but it was risky, and he wasn't sure if his father would approve. And if he did, Blaine would still have a lot of arrangements to make in order to ensure that everything went off without a hitch – but if all went according to plan, he knew Kurt would be more surprised and thrilled than he'd ever been in his life.

"I'll think about it," he said as vaguely as possible. He couldn't let Kurt know what he was planning to do – not yet.

"But don't worry about it," he continued reassuringly. "All that matters is that I'm coming to see you, no matter what it takes. I would do anything for you, Kurt. I hope you know that."

Kurt giggled a little bit. "Of course I know that, you silly boy. It's not easy to forget ever since you promised me in the form of a song on national television."

And then before Blaine even knew what was happening, Kurt was _singing _his own lyrics back to him through the telephone. "'I love you, I need you, for all that it's worth/And I'd follow you to the ends of the earth.'"

Blaine was struck silent for a moment. Kurt's voice…he'd never heard anything like it. It was soft and buoyant and yet still powerful and laden with emotion, even while singing merely two lines of a song he'd heard for the first time the previous evening. Despite having been in the music industry for a couple of years now, Blaine had never heard any voice as beautifully unique as Kurt's.

"Kurt, oh my god," he said breathlessly. "That was _beautiful_. Why didn't you ever tell me that you can sing?"

Kurt, speaking in his normal voice now, sounded adorably bashful as he giggled in response. "Thank you. It just never seemed important, I guess. It's really just a hobby. I'd much rather listen to _you _sing."

"Kurt, if I had your voice, I would never shut up," Blaine told him, only half joking. "It's so pure and smooth and…your _range_, my god, it's the most."

"That's an incredible compliment coming from you," Kurt said sweetly. "I've always imagined what it would be like to have you sing to me…and then I actually got to experience that last night. I still can't believe you actually did that."

"What can I say?" Blaine asked nonchalantly in response. "I tend to be inspired by the most beautiful parts of my life."

"Oh, Blaine…," Kurt's voice was choked with emotion even as he said those two simple words, and in that moment all Blaine wanted to do was take Kurt in his arms and kiss him with no intention of stopping.

Since he couldn't do that, though, he figured he could at least communicate his intentions to Kurt. "God, if you were here right now, I wouldn't be able to stop kissing you."

"I want to kiss you so badly," Kurt admitted, his innocent tone taking on a hint of coy playfulness. "Among other things, of course."

Blaine smiled to himself at the mere thought of kissing Kurt and doing _other things _with him as well.

"I'll let you do whatever you want with me. I'm all yours. Nobody can do the things you do to me. _Nobody_, Kurt."

"I love you so much," was Kurt's simple, soft response.

"I love you, too," Blaine promised him in a whisper.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his train of thought crashed and burned as a loud, incessant knocking came from his door. Blaine rolled his eyes as he covered the mouthpiece of the phone and called, "Who is it?"

"What?" Kurt asked from the other end of the line.

"Someone's at the door, hold on," Blaine told him, his voice as soft as possible, just as his father pulled open the door from the hallway.

"Morning, Dad," Blaine said as cheerfully as possible, trying to hide the phone receiver under the covers so his father wouldn't see it.

"You're not even out of bed yet?" was William's disgruntled greeting. "What in the world have you been doing in here, Blaine? You've got a full day of press ahead of you and a _lot _of explaining to do about last night."

Suddenly he noticed the stretched-out telephone cord and followed it with his eyes to where Blaine was attempting to hide the receiver under the covers. "Who's on the phone?"

Blaine felt his face turning bright red, as it had the tendency to do whenever he was put on the spot. "Dad, I'm kind of in the middle of an important conversation. Can you please leave me alone? I promise I'll be dressed and ready to go in ten minutes."

"I want to know who's on the phone," William demanded.

"It's a f-friend," Blaine stammered in response.

His father scoffed. "You don't have any friends. You don't have _time _for friends."

"Believe it or not, I do," Blaine said in as dignified manner as possible. Never would he let it show on his face that his father's words always cut deep. "_Please _leave me alone."

His father stepped closer, rage beginning to twist his face, and Blaine force himself to sit up straight and not shirk away in fear. "You will not speak to me in that way, do you understand me?" he growled. "You're an ungrateful little brat who has had everything just _handed _to you for the past three years. Have you forgotten who _got _you the record deal in the first place? _I _did. And it would be nice if you could show me some appreciation for _once _in your godforsaken life, Blaine."

He pulled on the cord to drag the phone out from under the covers, picked the receiver up, and pressed it to his ear.

"Whoever you are, I want you to know that you are worthless and a waste of my son's time," he barked into the speaker. "Good day to you."

It took all of Blaine's willpower not to flinch as his father slammed the receiver back down and hung up the phone. He hoped Kurt had decided to hang up at some point during the delay in their conversation, but his heart sank when he realized that he probably hadn't.

"Don't even think about calling your little friend again, because now you have _five _minutes to get dressed and ready," William spat as he turned back to face his son. "I'll see you downstairs."

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Blaine eventually forced himself to get up out of bed and start getting ready, but he fought back tears the entire time as he did so. He wished he could call Kurt back and apologize for his father's mortifyingly rude comment, but he knew that doing so would get him in even more trouble. What killed him the most was the fact that due to his busy schedule, he never knew when he'd get a free moment to call Kurt. The last words his boy had heard him say had been, "Someone's at the door, hold on."

Hundreds of miles of telephone wire away, Kurt was still holding his own receiver, listening numbly to the dial tone blaring in his ear. He had heard every word of the exchange between Blaine and his father. Mr. Anderson's sudden comment into the phone had shocked Kurt, no doubt about that, but he had no room to let Blaine's father's words bother him. What had hurt the most was hearing the way he had spoken to his own son – his amazing, wonderful, beautiful son, who Kurt loved more than anything in the world. It broke Kurt's heart to think about how hurt Blaine must have been, and the fact that Kurt couldn't be there to hold him in his arms and kiss his tears away almost destroyed him.

Blaine never called back, but that didn't surprise Kurt at all. He wouldn't put it past Blaine's father to make some kind of threat in order to intimidate his son into doing whatever he wanted. Still, Kurt figured there was nothing stopping him from doing what _he _could to make sure Blaine knew just how loved he was.

He recalled that during their conversation the previous evening, Blaine had mentioned that tomorrow morning he'd be leaving for Boston and spending a few days there performing concerts and talking to members of the press. Without wasting another second, he headed into the kitchen and grabbed his father's car keys off the counter – Burt had headed down the street to the shop after talking to Blaine, so the car was still at the house – and ran outside. He got in the car and drove as quickly as possible to the tiny library across town.

With the help of an elderly librarian who reminded Kurt of his own grandmother, he located a phone directory for Boston and looked up the name of the hotel where Blaine had mentioned he'd be staying. Luck must have been on his side, because there was an address listed. Kurt quickly jotted it down before thanking the librarian and tucking the scrap of paper into his pocket as he rushed out the door.

He knew he had to write quickly if he wanted to mail the letter today and have it get to Boston by the time Blaine arrived sometime the next afternoon. Fortunately, that was no problem. Kurt let the love flow from his heart through the pen, materializing into words on the page. When he was finished, he stuffed the paper into an envelope, spraying it with a dash of his favorite cologne and sealing it with a kiss just for a romantic touch. He addressed the envelope using as much information as he could – Blaine hadn't given him a room number, but he hoped that Blaine's name and the hotel's address would somehow suffice – stamped it, and scribbled his own address in the top left-hand corner, using his initials instead of his full name. After scrawling _Urgent _on the back of the sealed envelope, he ran to the large, blue mailbox nearby and stuffed the letter inside.

That afternoon, he paid special attention and made sure to listen for the sound of the train that carried mail to the east coast. His heart immediately felt lighter when he heard the whistling and chugging. He hoped that when Blaine read his letter the next afternoon, he would remember just how special he really was.

If Blaine's own father couldn't even appreciate his own son, Kurt figured, _someone _had to. And Kurt was more than happy to be that someone for Blaine.

* * *

Next chapter should be up soon-ish. I was actually going to make this chapter even longer, but decided to end it here just to make it more dramatic. So the next chapter will essentially be what was left out of this one. xD


	14. Chapter 14

14

For the entire rest of the day and on into the next morning, Blaine couldn't stop beating himself up about the fact that his conversation with Kurt had turned sour so quickly. More than anything, he wanted to run and find the nearest phone and call Kurt just to apologize and reassure him that he loved him – either that, or tell his father off once and for all. It broke his heart that he couldn't do either.

Instead, he had to settle for answering the questions thrown into his face by the press all day to the best of his ability. He managed to appease them whenever he was asked about the mysterious person he'd sang about on _Sullivan_ by vaguely and coyly saying that this person was so special to him that he wouldn't want to risk their privacy. Much to his surprise, most of the reporters believed him and respected his answer without pestering him about it much longer, but he knew he shouldn't expect that to happen every time. He needed to come up with a better excuse for the next time he had to do a lot of press.

He slept for most of the car ride to Boston and woke up just as David was crossing into the city. Despite having slept soundly for a number of hours, he woke up in an even worse mood than when they'd left New York. Blaine had gotten quite good at hiding his emotions, so when David asked how he'd slept, he managed a tired smile and said only that he was just fine, but still a bit tired. Really, though, he was so emotionally drained for more reasons than he could name. He wanted to see Kurt (or at least talk to him), he wanted to give his father a piece of his mind, and he wanted to feel like a normal teenager for once in his life. Sometimes these desires were so strong that he felt like he just might explode at any moment.

His hotel room in Boston was on the very top floor of the building. He was told by the concierge upon arriving that the very top of the building was reserved for only the most deserving and distinguished guests. Blaine responded as politely as he could by smiling and thanking the man, but deep down he was wondering why on earth he, a sixteen-year-old boy without a proper high school education, was considered a deserving and distinguished guest at this fine hotel in the heart of downtown Boston.

He offered to help the bellhop, a skinny young man who didn't look much older than Blaine himself, carry his luggage up to the room, but the bellhop refused any assistance. "You need to rest, sir," he'd told him. "You've got a lot going on here in Beantown this week."

_No, really, I don't need to rest_, Blaine wanted to say. _I just slept the entire way here from New York. _But he knew that doing so would be futile, because nobody seemed to listen to him whenever he offered to do anything for himself. As much as he appreciated the people who assisted him on a day to day basis, he knew it was completely unnecessary to have so much help with the most routine of daily activities. He was young, for crying out loud. He could still do plenty for himself if given the chance.

The second the bellhop dropped off his luggage and Blaine was alone in his room, he immediately collapsed onto the bed and buried his face in the obnoxiously fluffy pillow, fully intending to sleep even more until it was time for the press appearance he had scheduled for that evening. There were still a few hours left until he really needed to start getting ready and a nap sounded absolutely wonderful. But that wasn't going to happen, because the second his face hit the pillow he realized that it wasn't as comfortable as it probably should have been due to the fact that a stack of envelopes had been piled up there. The hotel staff had already conveniently brought his mail up to his room for him, though why they'd put it on the bed and not a more practical place such as the desk was beyond him.

He picked up the envelopes, intending only to move them aside and look through them later, because right now he was strangely exhausted despite the fact that he'd just slept in the car. But for whatever reason the envelope on the top of the pile caught his eye, and he immediately perked up when he recognized the familiar scrawled handwriting and the initials _KH _in the top left-hand corner above the return address. All of his previous annoyance and exhaustion were behind him as he eagerly tore into the envelope.

Upon ripping the paper, he happened to catch a fleeting whiff of a familiar scent and immediately brought the half-opened envelope closer to his face to inhale deeply. Sure enough, there it was – the intoxicating aroma of the cologne Kurt always wore, not overpowering but strong enough to make Blaine feel close to him. An involuntary smile spread across his face as he got rid of what remained of the envelope and unfolded the paper inside. It was amazing how Kurt could make him so incredibly happy even from hundreds of miles away.

_My dear Blaine_, the letter read,

_I'm not religious at all, but I'm praying that this letter arrives in Boston before you do so that you have a nice surprise when you get there. I understand that you're extremely busy and we may not have time to talk on the phone again before you have to leave New York, but I still thought you deserved some closure after our conversation today ended with a most unwelcome interruption._

First of all, I want you to know that you should not listen to a single word your father says. He is completely unaware of how absolutely wonderful and amazing his son really is. You _are__ wonderful and amazing, Blaine…and so many other good things that I don't even have room to write them all down. Please don't let your father make you think any differently. It broke my heart not only to hear him speaking to you in such a rude and demeaning way, but also to think that you believe you deserve to be treated as such. I love you so much and I promise to do everything in my power to show you all the affection you deserve._

More than anything, I wish I could be there with you in Boston, or that you could be with me here in Lima. After hearing what I heard on the phone this morning, all I want is to hold you in my arms and kiss you until you remember how much I love and adore you just for being _you__. Since I obviously can't do that right now (and it hurts to know that I can't) I'll just reaffirm what I feel like I've already told you a thousand times, but it's worth repeating – I can't believe how beyond fortunate I was this summer to get to know the real you and not just the teen sensation that everyone else gets to see. I consider myself so extremely lucky to have had the experiences that we shared together. I wish that I could run outside and scream to the whole world that I'm in love with you, but that would be dangerous for both of us. Instead, I'll just settle for telling you – because, come to think of it, you __are__ my world. I love you, Blaine Anderson. Never forget that._

I should probably wrap this up so that I can get it mailed in time, but I want you to do one thing for me. At some point today – and I know you're busy, but just try to find time – I want you to get off your feet for a few minutes and just lie down and relax. Maybe it's stupid, but I worry about you and all the stress and pressure you're put under. I can't even imagine having to go through everything like that at our age. Just take a moment for yourself. Lie down, close your eyes, take a deep breath and know you are loved. In just a few weeks, I'll be able to hold you in my arms and personally remind you just how loved you _really__ are. I'm yours for as long as you'll have me._

With all the love in my heart,  
Kurt  
  
Blaine honestly wasn't surprised to notice that there were tears on his face by the time he finished reading the letter, but at the same time he couldn't stop smiling. Not only was he impressed with the beautiful eloquence with which Kurt had written – Kurt would make a pretty damn good songwriter if he ever tried, Blaine thought – but the letter had given him an overwhelming sense of being loved that he hadn't experienced since the last time they'd seen each other in person. Yes, their phone conversations had been wonderful, as was the first letter Kurt had given to him – in fact, Blaine always carried Kurt's picture with him wherever he went, so that whenever he was starting to have a bad day, all he had to do was secretly peek into his wallet and see Kurt's beautiful face smiling back at him in order to feel better. But for some reason, reading Kurt's words after the sudden and unfortunate interruption in their conversation the previous day made him feel so much better.

Part of him wanted to sit down and write back to Kurt, now that he had his home address. The other part wanted to sit up and reach for the phone to call Kurt and gush about how wonderfully happy the letter had made him. He did neither. This letter had been just the push that he needed to finally talk to his father about the plan he'd been formulating in his head for quite some time now. Without stopping to think about it any longer, he stood up from the bed and opened the drawer on the nightstand, pleasantly surprised when he found a Bible inside. He stuffed Kurt's letter and the envelope (so he had the return address) in between the pages of the holy book, chuckling to himself as he realized the irony of the temporary hiding place, and slammed the drawer shut before standing up and strutting out of the room with all the confidence in the world. He only had a few more weeks to put his plan into action, so it was now or never. He only hoped his father would go along with it.

After three sharp knocks on his father's door down the hall, Blaine only had to wait a few seconds before it was pulled open by an exasperated-looking William Anderson. He could not have appeared more annoyed at seeing his son.

"What, Blaine? What is so important that you absolutely need to talk to me as I'm trying to get settled in?"

"I want to talk to you about my future," Blaine said as politely as he could. He had already carefully chosen his words for this conversation as carefully as possible so as to convince his father to let him go along with his plan.

"Your future is to make more records and play more shows and earn more money," William snapped. He began to shut the door, which hadn't even been opened all the way to begin with. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

Blaine managed to wedge his foot into the doorframe before his father could close the door all the way. He could immediately tell how much this annoyed William, but he tried not to let that bother him.

"Please hear me out, Dad. I promise I won't take much of your time."

William sighed and reluctantly opened the door the rest of the way. "I know you're not going to stop bothering me until you get your way, so we might as well get this over with."

Blaine stepped into his father's suite and took a seat on the large sofa. His suite was even larger than Blaine's, but that didn't bother Blaine at all. It was too much space for one person. His father closed the door and followed him across the room, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch.

"All right, what do you want?" he asked, making no point to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"I know you're going to freak out when I first say this, but I really want you to listen to me. This decision could ultimately be really good for us financially." Blaine paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, surreptitiously taking a deep breath before he continued. "I want to go to high school. I want a normal education just like any regular kid my age."

As expected, William did not seem very happy with this idea. He had started shaking his head before the words were even completely out of Blaine's mouth. "No. Absolutely not. How can you go to school when you need to be making albums and touring the country?"

"It's not like I would be giving up music forever," Blaine insisted. "Just for a few years so I can get a high school diploma. The tutors you've set up for me are great, but I need to have the experience of actually _going _to school where there are a lot more opportunities to learn. The more educated I am, the more seriously people will take me in the music industry. I'll be able to make my own business decisions, which will be a really important skill for me to have as I get older. I'll be able to learn about finances and how to be even better at earning and managing money. I really think I need to do this, Dad. I already have a high school in mind and I'm planning on finding their phone number so I can call them and talk to the administrators about getting enrolled."

He didn't exactly have any idea how he was going to do that just yet, but he thought that if his father could see that he had a specific plan and goal in mind, he might be more willing to let Blaine go through with this. Surprisingly enough, he was right.

"And what school do you have in mind?" William asked in response, somewhat hesitant, but at least he wasn't flat out refusing.

"McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio," Blaine informed him. "I met some really cool kids from there when I was in town for my show earlier this month. That way I would already know some people who go there."

Okay, so really he only knew _one _person who went to that school, and obviously he and Kurt would have to put on a façade of platonic friendship whenever they were around their peers. But if he had to do that to be with Kurt, then by all means he would do it. He was willing to do whatever it took in order to be a normal teenager and to spend time with the love of his life, even if they had to keep their relationship secret in public.

"So you're saying you want to move all the way to Ohio just so you can go to school," William clarified.

"Please don't make it sound like such a bad thing," Blaine begged him. "One of my friends already offered to let me stay at his house whenever I'm in town. I can live there with his family until you and Mom can move out there and find a place of our own. I really want to do this, Dad. Please consider it, at least."

His father sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you _do _have a point."

"So does that mean I can do it? I can go to school?" Blaine asked hopefully.

William was silent for a long time before he answered. Blaine found himself holding his breath. His father's response would determine if he got to spend a whole school year with his boy, or if he was doomed to spend more time as the musical, moneymaking machine he'd grown to become.

xxx

A few days later, Kurt sauntered out to the mailbox just as the sun was at its highest point in the sky. It was unbelievably hot, and he still had to go back to the auto shop to finish helping Burt – he'd come home just for a little bit so he could relax and maybe get something for lunch. He pulled open the mailbox and wiped his sweaty forehead on the sleeve of his flannel shirt as he blindly reached inside and groped around for the handful of letters that awaited him.

He flipped mindlessly through the stack of mail as he headed back up to the house. Most of it was for his father and there didn't seem to be anything that Kurt found particularly interesting. In fact, he almost overlooked the single envelope that was addressed to him, but something made him do a double take.

Sure enough, the letter was addressed to _Kurt _and not _Burt _Hummel, and he would have recognized the handwriting anywhere. Kurt immediately broke into a dead sprint the rest of the way up to the house, ignoring the uncomfortable way his clothes clung to his body with sweat, and carelessly threw the rest of the mail on the counter as he hugged his letter against his chest and scurried up to his room.

In his haste to open the envelope, he almost tore the letter that was inside. By the time he finally slipped the paper out, he was already smiling so wide that he felt like his face was about to break, but that smile was nothing compared to the one that would grace his expression when he finished reading Blaine's words.

_Dearest Kurt,_

Your letter made my day, so I can only hope that this one makes yours as well. I can't believe how lucky I am to have someone so remarkably perfect in my life. You never fail to make me smile, whether it's through letters, over the phone, or best of all, in person. I have to admit, I never thought I would ever meet someone who makes me as happy as you do. You not only make me _feel__ loved, but you make absolutely sure that I know I am. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that._

I never really got the chance to apologize for what happened over the phone with my father, and I know it's not my fault, but I still want to say I'm sorry for what happened. He had no right to speak to you the way he did, and it kills me that I'll never be able to tell him exactly who you are and how important you are to me. Whether he likes it or not, you are the most important part of my life, Kurt. I love you more than I could ever put into words (and yet I still try to do that, anyway).

And as for the last part of your letter, I want to have you for the rest of my life. Maybe it seems outrageous to say that now and maybe our secret will have to die with us. Or maybe society will open its hearts and minds to our love and eventually we'll be able to be open about it. Who knows – only time can tell. We may be young, but I honestly know that you are the love of my life. I feel like I left a piece of my heart back in Ohio with you and I can't stand the thought of not having you in my life. Please don't hesitate to tell me if this sounds completely crazy, but I want you to be forever my boy. You're all I want for the rest of…forever.

Which is why I've decided to start on that forever by doing something that, as a musician who spends way too much time in recording studios and on tour, I never thought I'd be able to do. I'm still coming back to Ohio to see you – I'll be there on August 27. But I'm not leaving after a few days like I originally planned. I'm staying in Lima and I'm going to start high school. I talked to my father and he agreed to let me enroll at McKinley, so we're going to start making some phone calls and getting started with that whole process. He was a bit hesitant at first, but somehow I miraculously convinced him to let me go through with it. I still have to keep a little bit of focus on my music career, which means I'll probably still be writing some songs and maybe recording an album next summer, but my dad agreed that a proper education will be essential in this industry if I want to succeed even more.

I'm so excited to start school and finally feel like a normal kid. But most importantly, I'm excited to be with you. You have this amazing ability to light up my entire world and make me happier than I ever thought I'd be. You are beautiful inside and out and I love you more than I'll ever have the words to say. Thank you again for everything and I'll see you next month. Never forget how much I love you.

All my love forever,  
Blaine


	15. Chapter 15

15

Finn Hudson slammed the newspaper down in the center of the table so the entire group could see, jabbing at one article in particular with his index finger.

"Look at this. Did you guys see this? That Blaine Anderson kid is coming to our school."

Rachel, his girlfriend, squealed obnoxiously and squeezed Kurt's hand under the table. She knew he would obviously be excited to hear this, since she was the only one of his friends who knew about his inexplicable attraction to the singer, but he hadn't told her about the relationship that had quickly developed between the two after the concert. As far as Rachel knew, Kurt was secretly in love with Blaine Anderson and the two had briefly met at the concert when the teen sensation had been signing autographs. For some reason, though, Kurt got the feeling that he would have a _lot _of explaining to do as soon as she put two and two together.

"This is like crazy! Is he going to perform a concert for us? I've heard about singers doing that, you know. They'll come to different high schools and—"

"Rachel," Quinn Fabray, who was sitting across from her in the cramped diner booth, said as seriously as she could. It seemed that she was having trouble containing her own excitement. "He's actually going to start taking classes at our school. As a student. That's what the article says."

Rachel and the rest of the girls at the table – including Quinn, Mercedes Jones, Tina Cohen-Chang, Brittany Pierce, and Santana Lopez – immediately began squealing and screeching and Kurt had to resist the urge to cover his ears. As much as he loved his friends, he was admittedly a bit annoyed with them. The girls probably thought this meant they had some kind of a chance with Blaine. If they only knew that he was the furthest thing from interested in them.

"Oh, Kurt, isn't this the most? Remember when we met him at the concert earlier this summer and he was an absolute dream?" Rachel was still holding onto his hand, but now she was swooning and fluttering her eyelashes. "Oh, I could just flip!"

"Wait, hold up," Finn cut in before Kurt could even open his mouth to respond. "You _met _him?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yes, Finn, I told you about that. Kurt went with me to the concert because you said you didn't want to."

"I think he went to the drag race with us that night, yeah?" Puck recalled. "I'm still surprised you didn't come with us, Hummel. You're into cars and seeing all those souped-up hot rodders."

Kurt shrugged blithely, trying not to let any unnecessary emotion show on his face. "I actually kinda like his music, so I went with Rachel to the concert." He paused, thinking only for a split second before continuing. "And I actually became pretty good friends with Blaine after I met him. We hung out a few times while he was in town. He's a cool guy. He's gonna be staying with me and my dad for a couple days while his family moves out here and finds a place of their own."

He figured he might as well tell them sooner rather than later, because he knew they would eventually find out that Blaine would be temporarily living at his house. Still, the immediate round of gasps and "_What_?!"s that followed didn't surprise him at all.

"You have to invite us all over so we can meet him!" Tina giggled, almost knocking over her milkshake glass as she reached over to give Kurt's hand an excited squeeze.

"I'm sure we'll all meet him eventually," Mike, her boyfriend, pointed out. It was obvious that all the boys in the group were getting increasingly wary of their girlfriends' mutual attraction to the teen heartthrob. Kurt wanted to laugh and tell them that they had nothing to worry about. _She's not going to leave you for Blaine. Believe me. He won't be interested_.

Just then, the waitress skated up to their table and distributed their food. Kurt could tell that she, too, seemed interested in their conversation about how a world famous pop star was actually coming to live and attend school in Lima, but he was grateful when his friends immediately shut up about that particular topic and instead thanked her nonchalantly as she passed out their burgers, hot dogs and fries.

As soon as the waitress left, however, Rachel was right back in the spirit of things. She jumped up from her seat and tugged on Kurt's hand. "Come on! I want to play one of Blaine's songs to celebrate."

He allowed himself to be dragged to the jukebox in the corner of the diner, completely aware of the fact that Rachel was onto him and was using this as an excuse to speak with him privately. Sure enough, after daintily inserting the proper number of coins into the machine and selecting a song, she turned to him with a glare as the opening chords of Blaine's hit single "Dancin' the Night Away" began to fill the diner.

"You and Blaine are together, aren't you?"

All the blood in Kurt's body seemingly rushed up to color his cheeks a mortifying shade of red. "Rachel, I—"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" she practically shrieked over the music, and Kurt immediately shushed her before she could even finish talking.

"I never said we're together," he stammered, trying to be as vague as possible and knowing full well that she would drag the truth out of him eventually.

"You're blushing," she pointed out. "You are so blushing. Something's going on between the two of you, I know it."

"Okay! Just shut up and I'll clue you," he hissed, trying to be as quiet as possible despite the distracting white noise of the music – not to mention Blaine's delectable voice. "We…kind of met up in secret a few times while he was in town. We made out and things got a little physical and…and we realized we're really into one another."

He wanted to tell her that it was so much more, that they loved each other more than either of them would ever be able to explain, but he knew he had to try and make it sound as casual as possible. For some reason, he thought, the vaguer his explanation, the better off he would be.

Rachel was frowning as she tried to make sense of all this. "So you're saying he's like you? He likes boys, too?"

"Yes. Yes, he does," Kurt murmured exasperatedly. "Listen, Rachel, you have to swear on your life that you won't tell a soul. This could be extremely dangerous for Blaine and me if anybody finds out, you dig? _Please_ don't tell anyone."

She seemed to be considering this and Kurt felt like he was about to explode. How difficult was it to agree to keep such a crucial secret?

"Okay," she finally said, and Kurt exhaled a sigh of relief. "But there's something else you're not telling me."

His face turned warm again. "What's that?"

"You're on the hook," she said simply. "You're in love with him, and as far as I can tell, he loves you, too. It's not just a physical relationship, as much as you'd want me to believe that."

"How did you know?" Kurt demanded, in complete shock that she had been able to tell.

She snorted – a very un-Rachel thing to do – and rolled her eyes as she turned away from him to head back to the table. "Please, Kurt, I'm not stupid."

He stood there for a second in complete shock before snapping out of it and hurrying back to the table. There was no doubt that his friends were already suspicious and he didn't exactly trust Rachel to explain why they'd taken so long to come back after picking one song.

"Everything okay with you two?" Santana observed, chewing daintily on a single French fry. "It looked like you were arguing."

"Oh, everything's fine, Rachel just tried to invite herself over to stay at my house indefinitely while Blaine is there," Kurt commented nonchalantly. Finn immediately shot Rachel an uneasy look; Rachel in turn fixed a death glare on Kurt, who stared back as if to say, _You owe me_.

"And what did you say?" Finn asked Kurt, still not taking his eyes off of Rachel.

"I told her absolutely not. The last thing the guy needs is to have some random fan hanging around all the time while he's still trying to get adjusted to a normal teenage life. No offense, Rachel."

This seemed to appease Finn, who reached across the table and gave Kurt a quick handshake to show his approval. "Good lookin' out, man."

His friends continued asking him about Blaine throughout the rest of their meal, all of which Kurt attempted to answer as casually and as vaguely as possible. When Tina asked when Blaine was going to get into town – it was, after all, only a week away from the start of the school year – Kurt managed a rueful smile as he told her that it would be sometime in the next couple of days. What he purposely neglected to mention was that Blaine would actually be arriving sometime later that very night.

They eventually left the diner, making spur-of-the-moment plans to head down to the drive-in on their way out the door. Kurt was invited along but he politely declined, making up some story about needing to go help his father because they had a lot to do at the shop that evening. This seemed to appease his friends, who called their goodbyes to him as they headed across the parking lot to attempt to pile into one car.

Burt Hummel, as promised, had beat Kurt home, having come back early from the auto shop so he could accompany his son to the airport. He was lounging on the couch, pretending to be interested in whatever President Eisenhower was saying on the television about his proposed interstate highway system. When Kurt came in, the elder Hummel immediately stood up and headed across the room to turn the TV off.

"You all ready to go?" Burt seemed nervous, but Kurt could understand why that was so. He'd been incredibly accepting of his son's love for Blaine, but there was still that inkling of doubt hanging in his mind – _What if they get caught? What will happen to me if people find out I'm helping them keep this secret? Hell, what will happen to __them_?

Kurt nodded slowly, completely unaware of the gigantic smile that had involuntarily spread across his face as he did so. "Absolutely. I can't wait to see him, Dad."

"I know. You really love him," his father observed. Kurt nodded again, not even saying a word, and Burt closed his eyes and sighed. "I can tell you do. It just kills me that most people wouldn't accept that."

"You accept us," Kurt said quietly, giving him a small smile. "That's the most important thing. If we have to keep it a secret from the rest of the world, then so be it, but at least I know my father supports us."

"Y'know, as much as I hate to say this, I figure the two of you would get enough shit from the rest of the world if word somehow got out that you're together. You need _someone _on your side," Burt told his son honestly, then checked his watch. "All right, it's almost seven thirty. You said his plane is supposed to land at eight, right?"

"Yes!" Kurt suddenly perked up significantly at the thought of seeing Blaine again in such a short amount of time. He'd been waiting seemingly forever for this moment and all of a sudden his heart started to race at what felt like an abnormally quick pace. He was thrilled and nervous all at the same time, and it was the most wonderful feeling he could ever recall experiencing.

"C'mon, what are we waiting for?" Burt encouraged cheerfully as he grabbed his car keys and pulled the door open to head outside. "Let's get you to the airport."

The drive seemed almost interminable to Kurt, who gazed dreamily out the window and thought about Blaine. Tonight they would finally be reunited after what felt like the longest weeks of Kurt's life. Up until this point, most of their relationship had consisted of separation, but that was all about to change tonight. They had at least an entire school year to spend together now, and Kurt wasn't about to waste a second of it.

Burt, who had made several attempts to start a conversation with his son, eventually gave up when he realized that Kurt seemed more interested in the scenery racing by outside the window than in what Burt was saying. He knew his son was in love, and he wasn't about to do anything to put a stop to it.

When they finally arrived at the airport, Burt parked as close as he possibly could, which was still a considerable distance away. Kurt didn't seem to mind; he was out the door and sprinting toward the Arrivals side of the building before Burt had even completely stopped the car. The elder Hummel rolled his eyes as he parked the car and stepped out into the sticky summer heat of the parking lot. He halfheartedly called after Kurt to wait up and was shocked when he saw his son actually stop and slow down a little bit so that Burt could catch up.

"Sorry," Kurt gasped as he tried to catch his breath once Burt had finally caught up to him. "I just really want to see him."

Burt glanced at his watch. "It's only ten til eight, kiddo. I doubt his plane is here yet. By the time we get in there and over to the gate, we should be right on time."

He quickened his pace to catch up with Kurt, who was already starting to walk quickly again now that they were almost to the doors. "He knows I'm coming, right?"

"Yeah," Kurt told him. "He's really excited to meet you. And now that word is out about how he's coming to school here, I think it'll look better if there's an adult here to meet him and not just me, some random teenager. That would be kind of suspicious."

Kurt, surprisingly, actually slowed down once he was inside the terminal. Burt, thankful for the opportunity to stop and catch his breath, was about to start looking for the gate when he realized he didn't know which gate he was looking for. Kurt must have spotted it right away, because they had only been standing there for a few seconds before he was off and practically running once again, an elated smile on his face as he turned around and motioned for Burt to follow.

The doors that led down to the jetway were open and the first-class passengers were slowly starting to trickle out. When Burt finally caught up once again, Kurt was already standing on the concourse and holding his breath in anticipation. He didn't seem to notice his father, so Burt snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

Kurt gave a stunned gasp and one hand flew to his heart as he turned around. His face fell when he realized that it was only his father.

"Breathe, kid. You don't want to pass out before he even gets off the plane."

"Please don't do that," Kurt told him breathlessly as he turned back around to watch for Blaine. "I almost had a heart attack, which would be even worse than passing out."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, he gasped again when a rather short young man with dark hair stepped out of the jetway. Burt didn't have to look at him for very long before he realized that it was the one and only Blaine Anderson in the flesh.

Blaine was smartly dressed in a button-down shirt with a tie and khakis. His face immediately lit up the second he laid eyes on Kurt, but both boys knew they had to keep this public encounter completely platonic. Burt could see the inexplicable love and adoration that filled his son's eyes as he stepped forward to meet Blaine, even though Kurt himself was trying to mask his true joy so that no passerby would get suspicious.

"Hi, Blaine," Kurt said softly, trying to sound as casually nonchalant as possible, but his voice came as a broken whisper choked with tears of joy.

"Kurt," was all Blaine could say as he extended his arm to greet the love of his life with a safe, formal handshake.

Kurt felt sparks flying from his fingertips through the rest of his body the second his skin came in contact with Blaine's as they shook hands. "I'm surprised you flew all the way here. I thought you didn't like planes."

"I'm not a fan," Blaine admitted, moving a little closer and lowering his voice, "but I knew that if I flew here, I'd be able to get to you faster."

That was too much for Kurt, who suddenly couldn't stand the fact that Blaine was not in his arms. He smiled and eagerly reached out to pull Blaine closer in a tender embrace, trying to make it look as much like a friendly, platonic hug as possible.

Too soon, they forced themselves to break away before anyone could get suspicious. Kurt gave him a wry smile before stepping back and gesturing to Burt.

"This is my father, by the way. Burt Hummel. Dad, this is the incredible Blaine Anderson."

Burt stepped forward to greet Blaine and shake his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Blaine. Kurt's told me so much about you."

"Only good things, I hope," Blaine said, laughing a little bit. "And…thank you."

Burt immediately understood what Blaine was thanking him for. He saw how much Blaine and Kurt were holding back, how much they truly meant to each other. He could tell it was secretly killing both of them to have to pretend to be nothing more than friends.

"You're welcome," he said simply, not wanting to elaborate for fear that someone might overhear. Instead, he decided to change the subject altogether. "Do you have any security with you? Anyone still on the plane that we need to wait for?"

Blaine shook his head. "Nope. I told my parents that if I was going to start school, I was going to be like a normal kid. Normal kids don't have bodyguards with them everywhere they go."

"Just don't be surprised if people at school completely flip when they see you," Kurt warned him as the trio began making its way out of the terminal toward the parking lot. "Hopefully once people get used to having you around, you'll be able to get a little more privacy."

"That's kind of what I was expecting," Blaine agreed, nodding. "It'll be so nice just to feel like a regular teenager, y'know? When my parents move out here next week, I'm going to talk to them about getting my driver's license and maybe a car. Do a lot of people drive to school?"

Kurt shrugged. "Some people do. My dad doesn't need the car to get the work since his shop is right down the street, so he lets me drive it to school. I can come by and pick you up if you need."

"That would be great," Blaine told him, smiling without even realizing it. "The more time I get to spend with you, the better."

It was the only comment either of them made that could be considered more than friendly during their conversation as they made their way to the baggage claim – Blaine only had one suitcase for now; his parents would bring the rest of his things when they moved out to Lima the following week – and left the airport. Blaine was thankful that everyone else seemed to be in such a hurry that they didn't have time to pay attention to him. He'd secretly been a little worried about flying home without any kind of security accompanying him, but everyone here at the airport was so busy that nobody so much as glanced at him as they hurried to wherever they needed to be.

Burt's trusty '49 Ford was parked relatively close to the building. Blaine ducked his head to hide a blush as Kurt opened the door and ushered him into the backseat. He couldn't help but think about the sexual escapades they'd had in this very car earlier in the summer. As if he could read Blaine's mind, Kurt climbed into the backseat and sidled up close to him. He leaned his head on Blaine's shoulder and looked up at him with those beautiful eyes, smiling that smile that never failed to make Blaine melt.

"Is it safe yet?" Blaine asked softly as Kurt's father, seemingly oblivious to the two boys in the backseat, started the engine and began to maneuver the car toward the edge of the parking lot.

Kurt immediately knew what he was talking about. He picked his head up and quickly glanced out the window to makes sure nobody was walking by at a close enough distance to see into the car. "I think so. Nobody's around."

Burt, curious as to what the two of them meant, couldn't help sneaking a glance up into the rearview mirror. Right as he did so, he saw Blaine tenderly cup his son's face and pull him closer, into a passionate kiss. Burt would be lying if he said it wasn't a bit unusual to see at first, but he knew it was only because he'd never seen two men kissing before. It hardly took him any time at all to notice the love they were sharing through the kiss and soon it didn't seem strange at all.

He shifted his focus back to the road just in time to hear the boys in the backseat break the kiss, the sound of which was immediately followed by soft sobs. Burt couldn't tell who was crying; it soon became clear that both of them were.

"I missed you so much," Blaine whispered, his voice choked with tears as he stroked Kurt's soft bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. It was still so surreal to him – after what had seemed like the most interminable few weeks of his life, he was finally reunited with his boy again. Kurt was even more beautiful than he remembered – pictures and memories couldn't do justice to his angelic features.

Kurt, noticing a few stray tears slipping down Blaine's face, immediately leaned in even closer to kiss them away. Blaine closed his eyes and reveled in the sensation of being loved and adored beyond all words.

"I'm here now. We're together," Kurt murmured, placing one more tender kiss in the center of Blaine's forehead. "We have all the time in the world."

Blaine picked his head up and the two shared another brief kiss. When they broke away, Kurt snuck a glance up at his father in the driver's seat, suddenly aware of the fact that they were not alone.

"Dad, I'm really sorry," he said with an apologetic smile. "We're kind of making up for lost time and I guess we both got so lost in the moment that we forgot someone else is here."

Burt shook his head, as if to tell him that he didn't have to apologize. "Don't be sorry. You two love and missed each other. I'm not going to try and stop you if you want to show affection."

"Are you sure it doesn't make you uncomfortable?" Blaine asked warily, lacing his fingers with Kurt's even as he spoke.

"Not at all, and even if it did, I have no place to tell you two to stop doing what you're doing," Burt answered matter-of-factly. "I want you both to know that you'll always be safe under my roof. Out in the world, people will try to tell you that what you are is wrong, but I don't believe that. All I care about is that you're happy together and you're safe."

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and the two exchanged a brief loving glance before he acknowledged his father again. "Thanks, Dad."

The three of them made casual conversation for the duration of the ride back to the Hummel household, but Kurt and Blaine didn't even dare move away from each other in the backseat. Blaine didn't think he took his eyes off of Kurt for the entire trip, and sometimes he'd catch himself staring at some aspect of his boyfriend's perfection – his hypnotic eyes, the adorable slope of his nose and the way it scrunched up when he laughed, his beautifully full lips, the loving warmth of his smile. He couldn't resist leaning over several times and spontaneously kissing Kurt's cheek or the side of his head.

When Burt finally pulled into the driveway and parked the car, Kurt took Blaine's suitcase for him and began heading up to the house. He turned around and smiled as he motioned for Blaine to follow him; after a moment of hesitation, Blaine finally did. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to be _living _with Kurt, even if it was only temporary. What made him even happier was the fact that Kurt seemed to be just as excited as he was.

"…and your room actually has its own record player as well, so if you want to borrow any of my albums and listen to them, you're more than welcome," Kurt was saying, chattering away at a mile a minute as he pulled open the front door and ushered Blaine inside. "It's actually quite nice for a spare bedroom. And it's right across the hall from the bathroom, so you'll probably get there first in the morni—"

"Whoa, kid, hold up," Burt interrupted suddenly. Kurt immediately whirled around, completely unaware that his father was already up the front steps and in the house. "He's waited so long just to see you and you're gonna make him sleep in the spare room?"

Kurt shot a quick glance at Blaine, who looked considerably uncomfortable for the first time all evening, then looked back at his father. "I, um…I thought that's what you would want. I mean, I would _like _for him to sleep in my room with me, but I wasn't sure if you…"

He trailed off awkwardly, feeling a blush burning its way onto his face. Despite his father's acceptance of their relationship, he was still the parent of a sexually driven teenager, and there was no way he'd let them sleep in the same room – and presumably the same bed – together, would he?

"Blaine, I'm sorry if this made you uncomfortable. If you want to sleep in Kurt's room with him, I'm not going to stop you," Burt told Blaine honestly.

Blaine, on the other hand, still seemed uncertain even as Kurt stepped up beside him and took his hand. "Mr. Hummel, are you sure? I mean, you're already doing me a tremendous favor by letting me stay here for the week. I do love your son and I want to be with him as much as I can, but I don't want to disrespect you, either."

Burt had to laugh at that. "I appreciate that, but I've been a teenage boy before and I know how their brains work. Even if I separated you two, I know you'd both somehow end up in the same room anyway. Just thought I'd make it easier."

"Daaaaad!" Kurt, now thoroughly embarrassed, yanked his hand away from Blaine's and dramatically covered both ears so he wouldn't have to hear any more. "Enough is enough!"

Blaine couldn't hold back a giggle, because he was pretty sure Kurt was the only person on earth who could still sound absolutely adorable even when he whined. He also couldn't resist joining in on it _just _a little bit.

"Aww, c'mon, Kurt. You know he's right," Blaine teased. The cutest little glare popped onto Kurt's face, but Blaine knew he wasn't really mad, so he continued. "This way, it'll be a lot easier for us to—"

"You are cruisin' for a bruisin', mister," Kurt warned, breaking out into an involuntary smile. Keeping a straight face as he pretended to be mad was proving extremely difficult. "You need to come with me."

He took Blaine's hand and began pulling him up the stairs, unaware that Blaine was turning around and sharing a satisfied grin and a thumbs-up with his father at the foot of the steps.

Once they were alone in Kurt's room with the door closed behind them, the whole atmosphere suddenly seemed to change. For the first time in over a month, they were truly and completely alone. They had all the time in the world to do whatever they wanted. As Kurt thought about this, he became so overwhelmed that he couldn't resist leaning in closer and planting a desperate kiss on Blaine's lips.

Blaine was just as eager as Kurt was to finally reignite the physical passion that had been missing, through no fault of their own, from their relationship for the past several weeks. For Blaine, though, there was something even more to the way their lips moved together. The rush of intense happiness that coursed through his entire being didn't have entirely to do with the fact that he was kissing a beautiful boy – although that certainly helped. But part of the reason for his sudden happiness also came from the feeling of complete and utter normality that always seemed to prevail whenever he was with Kurt. This was natural, this was right, this was the way things were supposed to be. It was almost as if his lips and body had been specifically made to fit flawlessly with Kurt's. No matter how crazy his life and career could be, when he was with Kurt, everything was perfect in his world.

He felt the tip of Kurt's tongue pressing against his bottom lip and eagerly opened his mouth to allow the other boy access. Kurt moaned right into Blaine's mouth as they tasted each other fully again, and when Blaine felt Kurt trembling against him, it became downright impossible to ignore the uncomfortably tight situation in his pants. Without untangling their tongues or breaking the kiss, he carefully maneuvered the two of them through the room toward Kurt's bed. Kurt collapsed on his back, pulling Blaine down with him, and once they were both horizontal the kiss only intensified more.

They kept kissing, and nothing more, for what could have been either minutes or hours. Neither of them paid any mind to the time passing – the world could have stopped turning, for all they knew, and neither of them would have noticed. When they finally broke the kiss, Blaine kept his face close to Kurt's and looked straight into his beautiful eyes. Blaine was fascinated by Kurt's eyes; he loved how he couldn't tell exactly what color they were. Sometimes he swore they even changed colors, which made them even more magical. Right now, all Blaine noticed was that Kurt's eyes were wide and dark with lust; their color seemed to be some hypnotic mix of hazel and blue today.

"Love you," Kurt whispered, still breathless from the kiss and not breaking eye contact as he smiled up at Blaine.

Blaine pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Love you too." He continued peppering more kisses all over Kurt's face, eliciting a cute little eruption of giggles from the other boy. "And I missed you."

Kurt closed his eyes and sighed blissfully as Blaine's hands, unable to help themselves, slipped up underneath the fabric of his shirt and began to reacquaint themselves with his chest. "God, everything just seems _right _now."

"This is right," Blaine agreed, pushing up Kurt's shirt to expose the porcelain skin of his chest and stomach. He moved down Kurt's body to trail a line of kisses down the middle of his chest toward his belly button, his words warm against Kurt's skin as he continued speaking. "_We _are right. Fuck everyone who says otherwise."

Kurt tugged his shirt up the rest of the way and off over his head to expose even more of himself to Blaine and give him more skin to kiss. As Blaine's lips continued mapping out his skin, Kurt let his mind wander and came to the dreamy conclusion that there was no way this could be wrong, not when it felt so good. He didn't give a damn what anyone else said – something as beautiful as the love they shared could never be a sin.

Blaine began palming Kurt's now-obvious erection through his pants as he kissed his way back down the other boy's body, and Kurt shamelessly thrust his hips up into Blaine's hand. Blaine was taking his time – he certainly knew how to tease – but Kurt was getting impatient. As good as Blaine's hand felt through the fabric of his jeans, it wasn't nearly enough. He growled with impatience as he grabbed Blaine's wrist and maneuvered his hand down under the waistband of his jeans.

"Dammit, Blaine, _more_. I need you to touch me."

As much as Blaine wanted to comply with his request, suddenly it seemed that even touching wasn't enough anymore. Blaine wanted to see him. Without extracting his hand from the front of Kurt's pants, he used the fingers of the other to work the button and zipper on his jeans. Kurt helped as much as he could, kicking his pants and underwear out of the way once they were low enough on his hips. As soon as he was completely naked, he gratuitously began thrusting up into Blaine's hand again.

"Better?" Blaine asked, wanting to look him in the eye but unable to look away from Kurt's gorgeous cock in his hand. He still wasn't completely hard yet and Blaine marveled at the way he could literally _feel _Kurt's arousal for him growing in his very own hand.

"It would be better if you were naked, too," Kurt deadpanned. "I don't quite see how this is fair."

Blaine immediately realized that he was right. Besides, the sooner he got rid of his own clothing, the sooner he'd be able to feel every inch of Kurt's body against every inch of his own. He reluctantly moved off of Kurt and began hurriedly pulling off his own clothes, never more eager to be naked in his life. It took him a little longer than it should have, though, because Kurt was watching him hungrily, licking his lips and lazily stroking himself, and it was considerably difficult not to get distracted by _that_.

Once the last of his clothing had been unceremoniously tossed on the floor, Blaine crawled on top of Kurt once again, this time wrapping one hand around both of their strained erections and holding them together. Kurt felt his breath hitch in his throat as he instinctively rocked his hips up into the friction; Blaine leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead as a subtle reminder of love even in the midst of such physical passion. Kurt looked up into his eyes and was met with the purest adoration and love staring back at him.

He picked up his head and gave Blaine a kiss, because no words could express how he felt in that moment. Everything seemed too perfect to be real – Blaine was really here, and they were really together, and they had at least the next several months to spend together, maybe even more than that. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he'd meet a boy who loved him as truly and completely as Blaine did. He almost didn't mind the fact that they had to keep it a secret, because what they had together was too precious to share with anyone else.

They reached their respective climaxes at almost exactly the same time; Blaine attempted to keep stroking the two of them together through their orgasms even as the intense pleasure ripped through his body.

It took a while for them to catch their breath, but when Kurt could finally move again he reached over and grabbed the box of tissues from his nightstand so they could wipe themselves off. Once they were as clean as they were going to get, Blaine melted closer to him and rested his head on Kurt's chest.

Blaine closed his eyes for a moment and listened to Kurt's heart. It was beating relatively quickly, but gradually slowing down to a normal, post-orgasm pace. Everything else was still and silent as Kurt wrapped his arms around his lover to hold him there.

After a few perfect moments, Blaine opened his eyes and looked up at Kurt. Kurt gazed back at him, the tiniest hint of a smile on his face, neither of them breaking the silence just yet because words were unnecessary. Their clothes and inhibitions had been stripped away and it was moments like this when Blaine couldn't believe it was possible for him to have this much love for another person. They'd fallen so hard and so fast that it seemed too good to be true, but now Blaine was absolutely certain that they were meant to be together beyond all doubt.

"You're so beautiful, Kurt," Blaine finally whispered after a while. For some reason or another, he had felt the need to state the obvious. It was the first thing either of them had said in quite some time.

Kurt turned his face away. "No, I'm not."

Blaine would have absolutely none of that. He placed a kiss right in between Kurt's eyes, subtly making Kurt look at him, and smiled lovingly.

"You are," was all he said, so softly that Kurt felt the words against his skin more than he actually heard them. As he looked into Blaine's eyes, he realized that it was true and for the first time in his life, he could freely think it. _I am beautiful_.

"You make me feel beautiful," he murmured, reaching up to cup Blaine's cheek in his hand. "And I love you, in case you hadn't figured that out yet."

"I had," Blaine admitted, giving him that adorable smile that always made Kurt's heart skip a beat or two or five. "But that's okay. I love hearing you say it. It's good for my ego."

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine picked up his head and pressed several quick, staccato kisses to Kurt's lips in quick succession. By the time he was finished, Kurt had momentarily forgotten how to talk and could only let a huge smile widen across his face.

"And of course, I love you, too," he breathed against Kurt's lips, because suddenly he was unable to help himself and he leaned in to claim more kisses.

Kurt smiled up at him when they broke apart the second time and quoted part of Blaine's letter to him. "Forever your boy?"

"Forever," was all Blaine managed to say before surrendering to yet another kiss.

They kissed for quite a while, passion eventually becoming sweet drowsiness as they both grew more and more tired. When they finally began to drift off to sleep in each other's arms, Blaine with his head on Kurt's chest once again, Kurt found it difficult to bite back a smile as his eyes fluttered closed. He was sharing a bed with the boy of his dreams and falling asleep with him after sharing an incredibly passionate sexual experience, and he didn't give a damn about the fact that the rest of the world would say that what they shared together was unnatural and wrong. He knew and Blaine knew that that statement couldn't be further from the truth.

What neither of them knew, though, was that their dreamlike reality was in for a rude awakening within the next few weeks.


	16. Chapter 16

16

Blaine was staring straight ahead through the windshield, not even batting an eye, and Kurt was starting to get worried. He had always known Blaine to be so free and fearless, and this was the first time he'd ever seen the other boy appear truly, genuinely afraid.

"Hey." Smiling softly, Kurt reached over and took Blaine's hand, holding it very discreetly on the seat between them. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, okay? I can turn around and drive you back to my house if you aren't ready yet."

Blaine would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly terrified, but the tender reassurance in Kurt's eyes did wonders to soothe him. He couldn't help letting a smile melt across his face, and suddenly he was simultaneously overwhelmed with both the desire to kiss Kurt and the disappointment that came with knowing that he couldn't – not now, anyway.

He shook his head and looked away, still ashamed of his fear. "I want to."

"Then what's wrong?" Kurt asked, rubbing his thumb in slow, soothing circles on the back of Blaine's hand.

Blaine sighed. "It's just…I'm scared. I dropped out of school after eighth grade. I've never been to high school. Plus, I don't know how people are going to react to me…I know it's unrealistic to think that they're just going to treat me like a normal person right off the bat, but I have no idea what to expect."

Kurt smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze. "I'll protect you," he swore, his voice soft but firm at the same time. "I promise."

Blaine's face melted into an involuntary smile of his own. It was hard _not _to smile when Kurt was being so sweet like this.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, Kurt."

"I ask myself that same exact thing about you every day," Kurt admitted, then pulled the door on his side open. "You ready?"

Blaine closed his eyes for a second and took another deep breath before opening his own door. "Yeah. Let's go."

They stepped out of the car and began making their way through the parking lot up to the main school building, each of them trying his hardest to push aside the desire to grab ahold of the other's hand. They couldn't show even the slightest bit of affection – not when hordes of teenage girls, all of whom had been gathered on the front steps in eager anticipation of Blaine's arrival, emitted a squeal in near-perfect unison and started stampeding in their general direction.

Blaine turned to Kurt and spoke under his breath. "You don't have to wait for me. I can handle the fans. You can go inside if you want."

Kurt shook his head and gave him the tiniest smile. "Blaine, this is supposed to be your first day as a somewhat normal teenager. I'm not going to let you face this alone."

In that moment, Blaine was pretty sure that he'd never in his life had a stronger desire to place the biggest and most passionate kiss ever on Kurt's lips, and if they'd been completely alone, he would have pulled his boy closer and done just that. However, they were the complete opposite of alone, and he had to settle for giving Kurt a lingering smile that he hoped displayed his love before turning to greet the scores of fans who were heading his way.

Kurt made a valiant effort to stay right by Blaine's side as the screaming fangirls crowded around him, shoving pictures in his face for him to sign, but before long he was shoved out of the way. Instead of attempting to push his way back through the crowd to get to Blaine again, he decided to hang back. As far as these girls knew, Blaine was just his friend, and there was no reason for Kurt to be _right there _as he signed autographs and greeted them. Trying to work his way through the crowd toward Blaine might look a bit suspicious.

He wasn't alone for long. Just seconds after he was shoved out of the way once and for all, he heard his friends calling to get his attention.

"Hummel! We were lookin' all over for you, man!"

Kurt turned to greet Finn, who had spoken, and the rest of his friends with a smile. Hugs were given all around – the slightly awkward one-armed clap on the back that was typical among the guys – even though they'd all just seen each other a few days before. They'd all known each other since freshman year, but for some reason the mood was different on this first day of school than it had been in years past. For the first time, Kurt realized that they were seniors now. This was _their _year – the world was theirs, and Kurt couldn't believe that he'd been so preoccupied with Blaine that he was just now realizing the implications of this school year for himself.

The group of guys began migrating toward the building, but Kurt stayed frozen in place. Upon realizing that he wasn't following them, the rest of the group turned around to see what was going on.

"Hummel, c'mon. What are you doing? Let's go!" Puck said impatiently, waving his hand to motion for Kurt to follow him.

"Blaine," was all Kurt could say at first. He cleared his throat, feeling a blush warm his face, and attempted to keep his voice steady as he spoke again. "I mean, I'm waiting for Blaine." He gestured to the group of girls that was still crowded around the love of his life.

"Guys, let's stick around," Finn instructed the rest of the group. "I want to meet this guy."

Kurt saw the realization set in on the faces of the rest of his friends as Finn began carefully making his way through the crowd of girls, mumbling polite "'Scuse me"'s that went ignored. The guys all wanted to meet Blaine because they wanted to size him up and see how much of a threat he was. Kurt knew what they were thinking – that their girlfriends would leave them and go after Blaine, and it was almost impossible not to blurt out the truth right then and there.

"Hey, Anderson."

Blaine turned around, unaccustomed to being called by his last name but somehow aware that the speaker was addressing him. He smiled at the girl he'd just met and handed her back the autographed glossy photo he'd signed, only to catch sight of a tall, lanky, slightly awkward-looking teenage boy looking at him expectantly.

"Oh, um, hi," Blaine said politely. He glanced around surreptitiously, looking for Kurt, and finally spotted him standing a few yards away with a group of boys who Blaine presumed to be his friends. This guy must have come from that group, he figured. "Are you a friend of Kurt's?"

The taller boy looked somewhat taken aback and when he spoke, Blaine realized that he was unaccustomed to calling people by their first names.

"Yeah, yeah, Hummel's my boy." He grabbed Blaine's arm, paying no mind to the fact that Blaine's face had taken on a sudden expression of surprise. After all, someone else had just referred to Kurt as _their boy_, and even though Blaine knew it was meant as an expression of brotherly friendship, he couldn't help but feel strangely jealous. "C'mere, I want you to meet the rest of the gang."

Blaine, sensing that he didn't have much of a choice and certainly not in the position to pass up an opportunity to make friends, allowed the taller boy to lead him over to where the rest of the group stood. He tried to read Kurt's expression and was happy to notice that his boyfriend was smiling. That was a good sign – Kurt didn't appear worried, so Blaine thought the least he could do was trust him.

"I'm Finn Hudson," the boy was saying as he stopped in front of the group and let go of Blaine's arm. "You already know Hummel, I guess. This is Sam Evans, Mike Chang, and Noah Puckerman, but don't call him anything but Puck."

"Nice to meet you guys," Blaine said sincerely as they all greeted him. They all seemed nice enough so far, and the best part was the fact that none of them would try to hit on him (the girls here, he knew, would be another story).

"So, Anderson," the guy who supposedly went by Puck began as the group headed toward the front doors, "how do you and Hummel know each other, again?"

Blaine swallowed the lump of nerves in his throat before attempting to respond. He bit back a smile when he noticed that the guys – Kurt included – had all formed some sort of protective circle around him. Since Blaine was the shortest of all of them, it would have been difficult for anyone passing by to notice that he was there. He appreciated their effortless attempt to protect him from more screaming fans, and it didn't even bother him because it also happened to look totally normal – just a group of guys walking into school.

"Kurt and I met earlier this summer when I came to town to play a show," Blaine explained. "He seemed like a really cool guy. At that point I already knew that I was interested in maybe starting to go to school, so I thought that hanging out with some people my own age would be good preparation for that."

He was surprised with how smoothly the lie slid off his tongue. In dealing with members of the media over the past few years, he'd grown accustomed to stretching the truth a bit when it came to questions that could threaten his personal privacy. Maybe his substantial amount of career experience wouldn't be such a bad thing, after all.

"Cool," was all Finn said, and the rest of the group nodded in unison as they finally pushed through the front doors of the school building. It soon became clear to Blaine that that was the end of the conversation, because as soon as they were inside, Finn raised both fists triumphantly in the air and let out an enthusiastic yell.

"All right, class of '57! This is _our _year now!"

Judging by the cheerful response that erupted from the rest of the seniors in the hallway, Blaine guessed that Finn and his friends must have been among the more popular kids in school. He was thankful for the brief distraction, as it gave him an opportunity to inconspicuously grab Kurt's wrist and pull him just the smallest bit closer.

"Kurt, I'm only a junior," he said under his breath. "Are you sure these guys won't mind me hanging out with all of you?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're cool," Kurt murmured, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he walked. "Promise."

In that moment, Blaine resigned to accept the fact that for as long as he attended school here, he would constantly need to resist the urge to show any kind of public affection toward Kurt. It was especially hard when the love of his life said something particularly sweet and reassuring, as was the case here.

Various teachers and faculty in the hallway were directing the incoming students toward the gymnasium, saying something about a special first day of school assembly. As Blaine followed the group into the gym, he was stopped and greeted by a friendly-looking man with curly hair who shook his hand and told him to have a seat near the front. Kurt and the rest of the guys must have had this teacher, because they all stopped to chat for a few minutes just like they were old friends. Blaine found himself awkwardly trying to shrink into the middle of the group again, the best he could do to go unnoticed by the never-ending flow of students. He wished they would realize that there wasn't much time for chitchat – he had to get into the gym and sit down; then he would be safe.

To his surprise, though, they didn't spend much time standing there talking. The teacher who had greeted them at the door began walking with them, almost as if he were personally escorting Blaine and the rest of the group to their sears. Sure enough, he (along with Kurt, Finn, Puck, Sam and Mike) helped fend off every squealing teenage girl who attempted to approach Blaine – and there were a lot of them. It seemed like a lifetime before they finally found a safe spot right at the front of the bleachers and sat down.

The teacher who had walked with the group turned to Blaine with an amiable smile and extended his hand once they were all sitting down. "By the way, Blaine, I'm Will Schuester. I'm the director of the New Directions glee club here at McKinley. Once you get settled in, if you're looking for an opportunity to get involved, we'd love to have you audition."

Blaine felt his face brighten at the prospect of having an opportunity to continue singing. Joining something like glee club would give him the chance to continue doing what he loved to do without feeling like his father's moneymaking puppet at the same time.

"Yeah," he agreed with a genuine smile. "That would be great. I'd love to keep singing while I'm here."

"You'd be great for glee club," Kurt told him. "These guys and I all do it. We originally only tried out because we needed an art credit or whatever, but it ended up being pretty cool."

To the rest of his new friends and Mr. Schuester, it appeared that Kurt had just sent him a friendly smile and encouraged him to keep pursuing his obvious talent now that he was here in high school. But Blaine knew there was something more in the way Kurt was looking at him – he could see the love in his eyes even as he pretended to be friendly. The two of them were certainly getting good at displaying their love for each other in the most subtle of ways, usually through affectionate glances that nobody else could ever detect.

They continued talking, making casual conversation for the remaining few minutes until the assembly began. A hush fell over the students and faculty sitting in the bleachers as a man who Blaine presumed to be the principal stepped up to the microphone in the center of the room and tapped on it to test it.

"Quiet, please." He spoke with a thick accent that Blaine couldn't place. There was no time to stop and consider it, because all of a sudden Kurt was leaning over and whispering in his ear, and it was impossible for Blaine to ignore the chill that raced down his spine as a result of _that_.

"That's Principal Figgins," Kurt explained in a hushed whisper. "He likes having these pointless assemblies for really no reason at all. I wonder what this one's all about."

"You are probably wondering why we've gathered you all here today," Figgins was saying, as if he'd read Kurt's mind. "We usually don't have all-school assemblies on the first day of class, as many of you returning students have probably figured out, but this year is different. We have a very special new student today."

Blaine wondered if it would be too unsophisticated of him to crawl under the bleachers and hide there until it was absolutely necessary to come out.

"As I'm sure you all have heard by now, the mega-popular teen sensation Blaine Anderson has decided to start attending classes here at McKinley," the principal continued. "He's here with us today—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because an excited murmur rose from the crowd as nearly every student began glancing around furiously, trying to figure out just where the object of their mutual affection was sitting. Blaine tensed up when he heard several excited squeals from girls who had obviously seen him and braced for the inevitable rush of estrogen that was headed his way. Thankfully, though, Figgins spoke up again before that could happen.

"Students, please, it's extremely important that you listen to what I'm about to say," he warned cautiously. It took a moment, but eventually the excitement began to die down and the room became nearly silent before the principal continued.

"We are very happy and excited to have Mr. Anderson joining us as a member of our student body," he said, and Blaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew the principal was only trying to be respectful, but he was honestly sick of the whole _Mr. Anderson _thing. His father was Mr. Anderson. Blaine was just a sixteen-year-old kid who had never set foot in a high school until today.

"However," Figgins was saying, "I am also aware that nearly everyone here – especially you ladies – would consider themselves to be a fan of Mr. Anderson and his music. In order to make his experience here at McKinley as safe and enjoyable as possible, I would like to make you all aware of a few simple rules.

"First of all, every staff member has been instructed to keep an eye on things. Teachers will always be on the lookout for inappropriate behavior. If any of you do anything to make Mr. Anderson's time here at McKinley anything less than what you, as a so-called 'normal' teenager would experience, there will be consequences. That includes stalking or harassing him in the halls between classes or at lunchtime or anyplace else where he may be especially vulnerable. Anyone who is caught bothering Mr. Anderson or being anything more than just friendly to him will immediately be sent to my office, where I will decide on an appropriate punishment depending on the severity of your actions. Am I making myself clear?"

There was a reluctant murmur of agreement from the students in the bleachers. Blaine felt the tension in his shoulders relaxing somewhat as he realized that at least the faculty here cared about his safety. He wasn't sure if the crazed fangirls would be allowed to run free and bother him as they pleased. As much as he loved and appreciated his fans, he was looking forward to having some substantial peace of mind here in high school.

"I know you're all excited to have Mr. Anderson here, but you all need to stop and think about how you would feel if you were in his shoes," Figgins said. "Nobody else in this school has fans approaching them for autographs with every step they take. The rest of you have all had the luxury of leading normal teenage lives, and now we're going to afford that luxury to Mr. Anderson as well. We welcome him to our school with open arms, but he will not receive any special treatment as a result of his celebrity status. Do you all understand me?"

Another incomprehensible wave of agreement bubbled up from the crowd. Figgins nodded in approval as the rumbling noise died down.

"Very good," he said, sounding rather pleased with himself. "Now, since I know you all just need to get this out of your systems…at this time, I would like to invite Mr. Anderson up to say a few quick words and introduce himself, if he doesn't mind."

He was looking right at Blaine as he spoke, and for some reason Blaine got the feeling that he didn't have much of a choice. Still, he thought this might be a nice opportunity for his new classmates to get to see the _real _him – not just the celebrity Blaine Anderson they all thought they knew. He had no problem with getting to know as many students here as friends rather than as fans. He'd had very few friends his own age ever since he'd started his career in the music industry, and being approached by his fellow teenagers only when they were interested in getting an autograph from him was rather exhausting. It would be nice to actually be able to befriend some people his own age for once.

He stood up and began making his way to the middle of the gym with a genuine smile brightening his face as he waved to the cheering students in the crowd. At least they liked him so far, he thought. He only hoped they would continue to like him once they got to know him better.

"Sorry for putting you on the spot. I just thought it would be easier for you if you could get this over with," Figgins told Blaine as they shook hands. "Welcome to McKinley. It's a pleasure to have you here."

"Thanks so much. I appreciate it," Blaine told him sincerely as he stepped up to the microphone and faced the students in the bleachers. He knew he shouldn't be nervous – he'd performed in front of crowds that were much bigger than this, after all – but for some reason, the lump of nerves had grown in his throat again and showed no sign of going away.

He turned to face the crowd and gave them all another friendly wave. "Hey, everyone."

Screams. Of course. Kurt fought back the urge to roll his eyes and instead shot Blaine a reassuring smile from the front row.

"So, I'm Blaine and I'm a junior here now," Blaine continued nonchalantly. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to say, but I guess this is a nice opportunity to introduce myself to all of you. I'm so happy to be here and I can't wait to get to know you guys. I already feel very welcome here and I can't wait to start my high school journey. Thank you."

He smiled as he returned to his seat, accompanied by yet another rousing cheer. When he sat down, Kurt gave his hand the quickest and most inconspicuous squeeze possible along with Blaine's favorite smile.

Principal Figgins made a few more remarks before dismissing the students to their first class. Kurt didn't have any classes with Blaine, but he still decided that the least he could do was accompany Blaine to his first class just so that he wouldn't have to brave his first real trip down the hall alone.

"Are you sure it's okay that I eat lunch with you and your friends?" Blaine asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as they paused outside the door to his first period class. Their shared lunch period would be the only chance the two of them would get to see each other during the school day, but Blaine still couldn't get a feel for how Kurt's friends felt about him. The last thing he wanted to do was mess up his chances of being a normal kid with normal friends.

Kurt smiled reassuringly. "Of course it's okay. I'll meet you in front of the cafeteria so wait for me there if you get there first, you dig?"

"Gotcha," Blaine confirmed with a nod.

Kurt pulled him into a hug – one of the awkward one-armed man-hugs that Finn and the rest of his friends had given him earlier that morning when they'd first met up, but it was a hug all the same.

"Later, man," Kurt said as casually as possible, for the benefit of the other students in the hallway who may have overheard. Out of the corner of his eye, he'd already noticed a small crowd forming, all of them gawking at Blaine and too intimidated by Figgins's speech at the assembly to approach him. "Knock 'em dead."

As he watched the secret love of his life disappear into the classroom, Kurt had the feeling that Blaine would do just that.

xxx

Blaine had been having a relatively uneventful day thus far. Sure, there had been a deluge of girls flooding around his desk in every single class period, all of them eager to greet him and personally welcome him to McKinley, but since none of them had asked for autographs or anything of the like, he knew he shouldn't complain. They were all just trying to be friendly, and he knew that once they got used to having him around, they would calm down and (hopefully) start to treat him just as they would treat any other guy here.

As for the classes themselves, there were teachers he liked and others he didn't care for so much, but so far he was just happy to be experiencing high school the way any other kid his age would. He was still a little worried about what would happen at lunch – he was beyond happy that he would get to see Kurt, but at the same time, he still wasn't completely sure if he'd fit in with Finn and Puck and the rest of the guys.

Still, all of his inhibitions were completely forgotten as he approached the cafeteria and caught sight of Kurt waiting for him to the side of the double doors. It had been a long morning, and Blaine wanted nothing more than to run up to Kurt and wrap him in the biggest hug possible, but he knew that would probably not be the best idea. Instead, he settled for giving the love of his life a friendly handshake and a clap on the back – though not without an unbelievably wide smile on his face.

"Hey," Kurt said breathlessly, seemingly just as happy to see Blaine as Blaine was to see him. "How's your day so far?"

"It's good, but it's kinda dragging," Blaine admitted. "Are school days always this slow?"

"They are, but you get used to it," Kurt admitted as they took a place at the back of the lunch line. "How about the fans? Are they holding back, or are they still bothering you?"

Blaine shrugged. "They're really not that bad so far. I think Figgins's speech this morning kind of intimidated them. In every class there's been a group of girls crowded around my desk, but I haven't had any near-death experiences yet, so I guess it could be worse." He laughed dryly.

"Good," Kurt said with a smile. "Now you just have to survive eating the wonderful cuisine we call 'cafeteria food' and you're all set on your high school career."

Blaine looked absolutely terrified all of a sudden, and Kurt felt bad for scaring him, so he laughed a little bit to ease the tension. "I'm kidding. It's not that bad. Not five-star restaurant quality, but it's edible. Although I would stay away from the chili, because that always looks questionable."

They had reached the serving line, so he grabbed a tray for himself and handed one to Blaine as well. Blaine, still unsure about what to eat, decided to trust Kurt's judgment and ended up choosing the exact same items that his boyfriend did. By the time they got out of line and were headed to the table, both boys were carrying trays that contained a cheeseburger, a handful of fries, a large chocolate chip cookie and a small carton of milk.

What Blaine _wasn't _prepared for, though, was the fact that Kurt's group of friends included several girls along with the guys he'd met that morning. Before he'd even set his tray down, all the girls at the table immediately erupted into a high-pitched squeal of excitement – Blaine even thought he saw one of them clamping a hand over her mouth so as not to spit out her food. He inched his chair the slightest bit closer to Kurt's as he sat down.

"Please calm yourselves, ladies," Kurt said as he took a seat, only half kidding. He smiled as he dramatically gestured to Blaine. "This is him. The one and only Blaine Anderson."

Blaine smiled at the group as Kurt introduced the girls. "This is Rachel – you met her at the concert – Quinn, Mercedes, Tina, Santana and Brittany. And the guys, of course, but you met them this morning."

Unsure of what to say but wanting to make a good impression on the people he was supposed to befriend, Blaine smiled politely as he spoke. "It's nice to meet you all. Thanks for letting me sit here; I was kind of worried that I wouldn't have a table to eat at."

"Please, Blaine, I highly doubt anyone here would be upset if you sat with them," one of the blonde girls – Quinn? – told him, not shy at all as she reached over across the table and grabbed his hand. Blaine didn't miss the way Sam glared at her as she did so. They must have been dating, he thought. He didn't want to pull his hand away and make Quinn upset, but he didn't want Sam to be mad at him either, so he smiled at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before pulling it away and picking up his burger so he could eat.

The girl named Tina was obviously upset that Blaine had touched Quinn's hand and not hers, so she made a big show of reaching across both Mike – her boyfriend – and Kurt so that she could shake his hand. "Well, _I'm _personally on cloud nine now that you're here. We're all so happy to have you here at McKinley. Aren't we, boys?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're all cranked," Mike said rather unenthusiastically. "Listen, girls, why don't you cool it with the apple butter and let poor Blaine here eat in peace? He's probably sick of all the attention he's getting. Right, Blaine?"

Blaine put his burger down and swallowed so he could talk without being rude. "It hasn't been too bad so far. I mean, girls have been coming up to me in every class, but it's not as bad as it probably could be."

"Aw, well, ain't that a bite," Finn commented blithely in a tone that suggested he wasn't sorry at all. "So, Blaine, how do you like it here so far?"

"It's nice. The day's going by kind of slow, but Kurt said that's normal," Blaine admitted honestly. Then, because he felt bad about being the one to answer all the questions, asked, "How are you all doing?" in an attempt to take an interest in his new friends' lives.

That, of course, sent all the girls into a flurry of gushing, giggly accounts of what would normally be rather uneventful school days. Blaine was well aware of the fact that they were all trying to impress him and that the guys were rather annoyed that their girlfriends seemed more interested in Blaine than in them. He wished more than anything that he could reassure them that he had no romantic interest whatsoever in any of the girls, but that would be the most dangerous thing he could possibly do.

When lunch was over, Kurt walked Blaine to his next class – which happened to be with Rachel, so Finn walked her there was well. Before she let him walk away, Rachel stood on her tiptoes and pulled Finn into a kiss with a smile on her face. Blaine looked at them longingly, wanting nothing more than to do the same to Kurt before he went into the classroom.

"I know," Kurt murmured, disappointment clouding over his face. He didn't even care that Rachel was standing by the classroom door, waiting for Blaine and perfectly within earshot – after all, she was the only one who Kurt had told about their secret relationship. It didn't matter if she overheard.

"Later," Blaine reassured him quietly, throwing in a wink for good measure. "After school, at your house."

"I'm holding you to that," Kurt said, raising one eyebrow to let Blaine know he was serious. "Meet me out by the flagpole after school."

He squeezed Blaine's shoulder as he stepped away, leaving his boyfriend in the hands of an all-too-eager Rachel. She immediately took his arm and guided him into the classroom, gabbing away about how precalc was _so _not going to be boring this year, not with Blaine in the same class.

Blaine wasn't even paying attention to a word she was saying, but he smiled and nodded anyway to pretend he was as he slid into an empty desk beside her. All he could think about was the time he would get to spend with Kurt later on.

xxx

Kurt and his buddies had always met up by the flagpole in front of the school once the last bell had rung, and today was no different.

Except, however, for the fact that every single one of the guys was glaring at him as he approached. None of them looked happy to see Kurt whatsoever.

Still, he tried to act as casual as possible as he joined the group. "Hey, guys, what's buzzin'?"

"Hummel, man, we've gotta talk to you about Anderson," Puck said right away, almost before Kurt had finished speaking.

Kurt blinked. "What's wrong with him?"

"You didn't notice at lunch?" Sam asked incredulously in response. "The girls are all over him and he doesn't do anything to stop it. He even squeezed Quinn's hand, man. Did you see that? He _squeezed _her _hand_."

Kurt wanted to tell them that there was nothing Blaine _could _do to ward off the attention without revealing that he was really attracted to boys. But, obviously, he would do nothing of the kind, so he attempted to defend Blaine in such a way that wouldn't reveal their mutual secret.

"He was just trying to be friendly," Kurt said nonchalantly. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything."

"I think it _did _mean something, and I think he's trying way too hard to fit in," Finn cut in, then continued in a bad impression of Blaine's speaking voice. "Like, 'Oh, hi, I'm Blaine Anderson! I'm gonna try to get with all the girls just because I can, but I just wanna be a normal kid, too!' Get real."

"And didja notice the way he calls you 'Kurt' like you're…I don't even know," Puck added. "Kinda weird, considering how he's heard all of us calling you Hummel."

"Well, that _is _my name," Kurt countered. "If he'd rather call me Kurt, then I don't mind. I don't see why it matters to you what he calls me, anyway."

"Whatever," Mike shot back. "It's weird. _He's _weird. He's got a lot to learn if he—"

"Hey, guys!"

Every single one of them froze and Kurt's heart just about stopped as he turned to see none other than Blaine himself standing there, wearing a smile that was slowly fading.

Then, for good measure, he looked at Kurt and nodded as he added, "Sup, Hummel?" almost as an afterthought in a tone that even Kurt thought sounded awkward.

In that moment, he knew that Blaine had heard every word. He felt beyond horrible and for the first time, he wanted to charge at the rest of the guys and beat them all singlehandedly until they were black and blue. He envisioned himself doing just that for a moment before deciding that he should be the bigger person and just leave.

He pulled his keys out of his pocket, making no attempt to hide his anger and disgust from his so-called friends.

"C'mon, Blaine, let's cut out." He used his boyfriend's first name on purpose, hoping to reassure Blaine that he could call Kurt whatever he wanted.

Blaine didn't say a word as he followed Kurt to the car. Kurt stared straight ahead as he walked, glowering and still shaking a bit with rage even as he approached the car and unlocked it. But he tried to push all that aside as he opened the door and got in, because now that they were relatively alone, Blaine needed to be his focus.

"Are you okay?" he asked warily, looking with concern at Blaine in the passenger's seat.

Blaine didn't even meet Kurt's eyes. He looked down at his lap, playing absently with his fingers as he responded in a flat monotone.

"They hate me."

"Fuck them," Kurt responded without hesitation. "Blaine, you're the most amazing guy – the most amazing _person _that I've ever known, period. If they can't see how incredible you are, then they're obviously too stupid for their opinions to matter."

"But they're your friends," Blaine countered weakly. "You can't call your friends 'stupid,' can you?"

"I'll call them whatever the hell I want," Kurt said with a smile, his tone much softer this time. "_Nobody _can say shit like that about my boy and expect me just to take it calmly. I can't even tell you how much I wanted to throttle them."

"God, that would've been hot," Blaine practically moaned without even thinking. After allowing himself a few seconds to envision this, he snapped out of it and looked at Kurt with wide eyes. "You'd really do that for me?"

"If it ever became necessary, sure. I'd fight for you in a heartbeat," Kurt told him honestly.

"Even against one of your friends?" Blaine asked, sounding unsure.

Kurt nodded. "Even against one of them. You're the most important part of my life, Blaine. If there weren't all these people walking around outside, I would kiss you right now."

Blaine closed his eyes and sighed blissfully. "God, Kurt, just get us out of here, would you? Please just take us home so I can kiss you."

That was all the encouragement Kurt needed. He sped out of the parking lot and onto the main road, tires squealing. In the back of his mind, he knew he would have to do something about the conflict between Blaine and his friends, but that could wait until later. For the rest of the day, Blaine was the only thing that mattered in his world.


	17. Chapter 17

**This ended up being longer than I was originally planning, but I kind of got inspired to write the part at the end of this chapter after I watched The Notebook a few weeks ago :P Here we start to see a different side of Kurt which is a little bit closer to canon!Kurt in the show.**

I know a few of you have had questions about certain aspects of this story, and I can't answer all of them through private message because some of the people asking are guest reviewers and I have no way to directly contact you. So, to make things easier and clarify some stuff, here are a few fun facts that will hopefully clear up any confusion:

1) Yes, gay sex existed in the 1950s. The earliest recorded homosexual acts date all the way back to Ancient Greece.

2) The word "gay" was first used to mean "homosexual" in the 1930s, but that meaning wasn't widely used until the 1960s, hence why I haven't been using it here.

3) Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's **_Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders _****until 1974.**

**Hopefully that clears things up and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

17

When Kurt sauntered into the kitchen the next morning, his father was sitting at their tiny kitchen table with an already-empty plate in front of him. He glanced up at Kurt from the pages of the newspaper as his son untied the bag of bread on the counter and slipped two pieces into the toaster. "Morning, kid."

"Hey," Kurt responded, sounding a little absentminded as he pushed down the lever on the toaster and turned to open the fridge. He stared inside for a long time before eventually pulling out the carton of orange juice.

Burt set down the newspaper and folded it up. "You okay?"

"'m fine," Kurt mumbled as he turned to open the cabinet beside the fridge and took out a tall glass. "Don't wanna go to school today."

"I thought you told me yesterday that your glee club thing was having their first meeting today. Aren't you looking forward to that?" Burt asked.

Kurt shrugged as he began to pour himself some juice. "Not really. Blaine wants to join, but the rest of the guys don't like him. I just don't want to have to put up with them."

Just then the toast popped up out of the toaster, startling Kurt and causing him to spill juice all over the counter. He cursed under his breath as he grabbed a dishrag from the counter by the sink and began cleaning it up.

Burt was admittedly perplexed. "Where is Blaine, anyway?" He was surprised he hadn't come down to the kitchen with Kurt.

"He's upstairs getting ready. He slept in a little bit later than I did; he should be down in a little bit," Kurt told him. He glanced at the small amount of orange juice that had made it into the glass, frowned, and dumped it into the sink. "Fuck it. I need coffee, anyway."

He sighed as he reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. "I just don't get it. My friends all have a problem with him for some reason. They don't like the way he talks, the way he acts, and I even get the feeling that they don't like the fact that he's living here, even if it _is _just a temporary thing while his parents find a place." He glanced helplessly at his father. "I just don't know what I should do. I want to stand up for him, but there's no way I can tell my friends the truth."

"You don't have to tell them what's really going on between the two of you, but you can still stand up to them," Burt suggested. "You have the right to be friends with whoever you want to be friends with. As far as these guys know, you and Blaine are just that. Just friends. The next time they say something that bothers you, just let them know that what they're saying isn't cool. Blaine's your friend, too, whether they like it or not."

Kurt gave him an emotionless smile. "That's great advice, Dad, but I think it's easier said than done." He took the toast out of the toaster, set it on a plate, grabbed his mug of black coffee and sat down at his usual place next to Burt. "The thing is, the guys all think that their girlfriends are going to try to leave them for Blaine. Every single one of those girls has a thing for Blaine. I could see it yesterday when we were all eating lunch together. I have no way to reassure them that Blaine isn't interested in any of the girls."

"Hopefully they'll eventually figure that out on their own," Burt offered. "I'm not saying they're going to find out that Blaine's attracted to guys and whatnot, but maybe they'll realize that he's not flirting back with the girls and that'll put them at ease."

"Oh, I don't know. To these guys, everything Blaine _does _is flirting." Kurt rolled his eyes. "He could smile politely at a girl just to say hello and be friendly, and her boyfriend would give him the evil eye for the rest of the day. They just feel so threatened by him, I guess. This whole situation's kinda bumming me out."

"Well, what day is it? Tuesday?" Burt asked, and Kurt nodded dejectedly – it was still way too early in the week. "Well, this coming weekend is Labor Day. You know what that means, don't you?"

Kurt nodded. "Lake Erie," he mumbled.

For as long as Kurt could remember, he and his family had been taking annual trips up to visit relatives who lived in Cleveland, relatively close to the lake, for the Labor Day picnic and barbecue that they hosted at the end of every summer. It was one of Kurt's favorite traditions, and he knew his father had mentioned it just now because he thought it would remind Kurt that he had something fun to which he could look forward. As much as Kurt appreciated that, he was too distracted by the situation between Blaine and his friends at school to really think about going to the lake just now.

"Why don't you invite Blaine to tag along with us?" Burt suggested. "It'll be a good opportunity for the two of you to get away from everything. You can just tell everyone he's a good friend. They don't have to know the truth."

Kurt hadn't even considered the possibility of bringing Blaine along, and now his outlook for the next couple of days was significantly brighter. "You mean that? I can bring him?"

"I mean it," Burt told him. "His parents still haven't moved out here. What are we going to do? Leave him to sit here at our empty house by himself for the long weekend? He's more than welcome to come along if he'd like."

"I have no idea what's going on, but I'd love to come to whatever it is you're talking about."

Blaine's sudden voice startled both of them, but Kurt's face was overcome with a huge smile as he turned to see Blaine, all dressed and ready for the day, standing in the kitchen doorway. He stood up from his place at the table and went over to greet him.

"Well good morning, sleepyhead." He was still smiling as his lips met Blaine's for the good-morning kiss they'd grown accustomed to sharing over the past few days. "You want to come with us up to Lake Erie this weekend? My aunt and uncle that live up there have this Labor Day barbecue thing every year."

Blaine took a second to imagine what that would be like – spending time with Kurt by the lake on what would more than likely be one of the last warm weekends of the year – and a smile immediately grew across his face. He couldn't think of anything better. "I'd love to, sure. As long as you two don't mind having me tag along."

"Oh, of course not! Right, Dad?" Kurt turned to glance at his father, who nodded, before excitedly facing Blaine again. "See?"

Blaine shrugged noncommittally, still with that huge smile on his face. "I guess I'm coming, then. Do you think your relatives will like me?"

Kurt immediately caught his drift. Blaine was already well aware of the fact that Finn, Sam, Puck and Mike didn't care too much for him, and he was obviously worried that Kurt's extended family would have the same sentiment toward him.

"I'm sure they'll love you. Forget what my idiot friends say. They don't know anything," Kurt assured him. "We'll go up there, tell everyone we've become really good friends since we met at your concert over the summer, and they'll all be so happy to have you there."

If the gorgeously reassuring smile on Kurt's face was any indication, Blaine thought, he really had nothing to worry about.

xxx

Unfortunately, just as Blaine expected, the school day proceeded in much the same way he was expecting – boundless expressions of love and adoration and attempted friendship from seemingly everyone in the school except for Finn and the rest of the guys. From them, Blaine received the opposite. None of the guys spoke to him unless Blaine specifically addressed one of them first, and Kurt was the only one at the cafeteria table (save for the girls, of course) who made any attempt to include him in the lunchtime conversation. Blaine got the impression that they were treating him as if he were stupid – the condescending responses he received whenever he asked one of them a question certainly made it seem that way, at least.

When Kurt walked Blaine to his math class after lunch, he pulled him around a corner into an empty portion of the hallway through which nobody was currently passing. Then, before Blaine could say a word or ask what was happening, Kurt pulled him into a hug. Since they had a bit of privacy, the embrace was much closer and more intimate than the one-armed clap-on-the-back hugs they'd shared out in the open. When they pulled away, Kurt didn't even need to say a word – all Blaine had to do was look into his beautiful eyes to see just how much Kurt loved him.

"Thank you," Blaine murmured softly, giving Kurt a smile that he hoped reflected his profound gratitude for comforting him. That hug, as simple as it had been, was just what Blaine had needed after the excruciatingly painful forty-five minute lunch period that had ended just a few minutes earlier.

"I've got your back," was all Kurt said, giving him a rueful smile before turning to head out into the main part of the hallway.

The second Blaine had disappeared into the classroom, Kurt turned to head back down the hall – but he didn't get very far before a voice he hadn't wanted to hear called after him.

"Hummel! Lay dead, man." It was Finn, who was practically jogging to catch up. Kurt rolled his eyes as he turned all the way around to acknowledge his so-called friend.

"What? I have to get to class." He was trying desperately hard not to let his annoyance seep into his voice, but considering the impeccably rude way Finn and the rest of the guys had treated Blaine at lunch, that was nearly impossible.

"What were you doing with Wet Rag Anderson just now?" Finn demanded as he fell into step beside Kurt, who had started walking in the general direction of his next class.

Suddenly it felt like Kurt's heart had stopped and every single ounce of blood in his body had rushed up to color his face. He tried his best to play it cool. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Without warning, Finn grabbed Kurt's wrist and pulled him to the side, out of the way of the seemingly endless flow of students on their way to class. Kurt could tell just from the hatred flashing through Finn's eyes that his friend wasn't happy, and he tried not to let that intimidate him.

"Bullshit, Hummel. Don't act like I didn't see the two of you just now. You pulled him around the corner and you hugged him, didn't you?"

Kurt raised one eyebrow and spoke defiantly. "So what if I did?"

"So what…so what if you _did_?" Finn repeated, practically spitting with anger. "That's not something guys like us _do_, Hummel."

"It's something guys like _me _do," Kurt shot back without missing a beat. "He was feeling pretty low after the way you guys treated him at lunch, you dig? I'm not just gonna let my friend get put down like that. And he's _not _a wet rag! He hangs around with us because I'm the best friend he's got here, and I was _hoping_ that the rest of my friends would be a little nicer to him."

"Jesus, Hummel, why does he have to be our _friend_?" Finn sighed agonizingly in response. "There are plenty of other kids at this school who would be more than happy to be his friend. He just bugs me and the rest of the guys, okay? I don't know why we're all expected to be nice to him just because he's living with you and you're his _friend_."

"You know what? I'm not talking about this anymore." Kurt pushed past Finn, but turned to face him one more time before heading out on his way.

"Blaine's actually a really good guy," he continued. "Maybe if you actually got to know him a little better instead of treating him like shit all the time, you'd get with it."

"Hummel!" Finn called after him, but Kurt didn't even turn around.

"Get bent, Hudson," was Kurt's only response, and before a suddenly dumbstruck Finn could muster a reply, the shrill ringing of the bell was sounding through the hallway. Class had started and both of them were late, but Kurt didn't even give a damn. He smiled to himself as he sauntered through the halls, fully confident that he'd talked Finn down enough for now.

xxx

When Blaine came to the choir room for glee club rehearsal at the end of the day, he was immediately disheartened as he realized that he appeared to be the last one there. His mood brightened a bit when realizing that there was an empty chair in between Kurt and Finn – although he wasn't exactly looking forward to sitting by Finn, at least he'd get to be next to Kurt.

He started toward the chair in question with a smile brightening on his face as he opened his mouth to say hello to Kurt, but his expression immediately fell as Finn bent over and picked up his backpack, placing it on the empty chair and staring straight at Blaine as he did so.

Blaine was about to turn around and find somewhere else to sit, but that wasn't going to happen – not if Kurt had anything to say about it. Without saying a word, he took Finn's backpack off the chair and placed it on the floor, then smiled up at Blaine as a silent invitation for him to sit there.

"Hey." Finn was clearly angry now as he picked up his bag and set it on the chair again, completely ignoring Blaine. "Don't touch my shit."

"Your backpack doesn't need to be on the chair," Kurt replied smoothly, removing the bag and placing it on the ground again. "Have a seat, Blaine."

Blaine hesitantly stepped forward and sat in the now-empty chair, but that didn't stop Finn from leaning over him and yelling at Kurt.

"I needed to put my bag there," Finn informed Kurt, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't get to touch my stuff."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought it was common courtesy to give a chair to a person instead of to a _bag_," Kurt shot back. "You can put it on the floor just like everybody else."

"_He _can sit on the floor," Finn practically shouted. Blaine did not appreciate being spoken of as if he weren't even there, but he knew that keeping his mouth shut would be the wise thing to do. "I had my stuff there first."

"I don't give a fuck _what _was there first," Kurt hissed. "Chairs are for people."

Finn leaned even further over Blaine and braced his hands against Kurt's chest, shoving him forcefully. "Shut the fuck up before I pound you, Hummel."

Kurt eagerly jumped up from his seat. "Oh yeah? Let's go."

"Guys!" Blaine, frustrated to the point that he could no longer hold his tongue, stood up. He knew Kurt was tough, but he couldn't stand the thought of possibly seeing his boy get hurt.

Finn and Kurt both looked at him, seemingly shocked from his sudden outburst. Blaine's voice was quieter as he continued.

"I'll just go get a chair from another classroom and bring it in here," he decided. "Finn, you can put your bag on the chair if you want."

Kurt shook his head. "No. That's ridiculous. We don't need to bring in another chair when we have an extra one in here."

"Hey, what's going on in here?"

Finn, Kurt and Blaine, along with the rest of the class – which had fallen silent as the rest of the students watched the standoff – immediately glanced up to see Mr. Schuester standing in the doorway and looking extremely confused.

"Don't have a cow, Mr. Schue," one of the girls – Blaine thought her name was Santana – told him coolly. "Finn and Kurt just got into a really stupid argument over a _chair_."

"Finn wouldn't move his backpack so that Blaine could sit there," Kurt added.

Finn rolled his eyes. "There's plenty of other places for him to sit," he sighed, clearly meaning that there was plenty of open floor space where Blaine could sit as if he were some kind of dog.

"Yeah, sure, look at all these invisible chairs," Kurt shot back sarcastically. "Blaine, take your pick."

"Guys, guys!" Mr. Schue shouted, doing his best to intervene. He looked at the boys with a stare that let them know he was serious. "Finn, let Blaine have the chair."

The entire room was silent as the three of them returned to their seats. Mr. Schuester looked pleased with himself, so once the trio was seated he immediately began class with a bright cheeriness that couldn't have differed more from the tension that had previously filled the room.

"All right, welcome back, everybody! And welcome, of course, to our newest member, Mr. Blaine Anderson." He gestured to Blaine, earning a quiet round of applause that was much more enthusiastic from the girls than from the boys (save for Kurt).

"I'm sure you're all familiar with Blaine's music," Mr. Schue continued. "He's just had quite a successful summer…he toured the country and appeared on the _Ed Sullivan Show_, and he also became the youngest-ever recording artist to have a certified gold record."

More applause, this time from everyone except for Finn.

Mr. Schue, of course, was oblivious to the tension as he continued to praise Blaine. "We couldn't be happier to have you here as a member of New Directions, Blaine. I hope the rest of you will be nothing but welcoming and friendly to him. He's a perfect example of what even the youngest artists can achieve if they put their heart and soul into their music."

"Of course he's perfect," Puck, who was sitting behind Kurt, muttered sarcastically. Kurt resisted the urge to glare over his shoulder at him, instead casting a quick glance at Blaine out of the corner of his eye. If Puck's comment had fazed him, it didn't show on his face.

"Now, in keeping with our tradition here in glee club, we'd like to invite our newest member to perform for us," Mr. Schue was saying. "Blaine?"

Blaine stood up and walked toward the center of the room. He leaned over to say something to the band that accompanied the glee club during every rehearsal, then turned to face the rest of the group with his trademark million-dollar smile.

"Hey, everyone, I know I've already met most of you, but if not…I'm Blaine." He gave them all a friendly wave and kept on smiling, seemingly unfazed by the events of just a few minutes ago. "And, um, I hope you all enjoy my song."

He wasn't as nervous to face the group now – he knew that music was something he was good at, and he'd had more than enough experience performing for crowds that were a hundred times the size of the assortment of students in the choir room. Still, he couldn't help but steal a fleeting glance at Kurt as the band struck up the music. Kurt's beautifully reassuring smile gave him all the remaining strength that he needed to carry on.

xxx

A little over an hour later, Kurt was feeling completely rejuvenated as he headed out to the flagpole to wait for Blaine. The entire group – including the guys – had loved Blaine's performance, and at one point everyone had jumped out of their seats and partnered up to dance without a care in the world. Kurt wasn't sure what he was happier about: the fact that he'd been able to dance with Blaine in such a public setting and nobody had given them so much as a second glance (most likely because they knew it was all in the name of fun, and therefore thought nothing of it), or that his friends – including the ever-stubborn Finn – had appeared to have been enjoying themselves just as much as Kurt was.

He remembered the way Finn had smiled breathlessly as he collapsed into his chair after dancing with Rachel through the end of Blaine's song, exhaling an admitted, "Okay, okay, that was fun." Kurt bit back a smile as he recalled that. The fact that Finn had showed absolutely no hostility toward Blaine, even for that quick moment, could be considered a small victory.

He made his way through the lingering clumps of students out in front of the school, muttering polite "Excuse me"s that went unheard as his classmates chatted with their friends. His hopeful smile continued to tug at the corners of his mouth as he walked, but suddenly his heart sank as he approached the flagpole and caught sight of what was going on.

Blaine had already arrived – there would be no need for Kurt to wait for him – but, to Kurt's dismay, so had Finn and the rest of the guys. They were all standing in a close circle as they talked, and although they weren't making an obvious point of excluding Blaine, it was clear in the way that Blaine seemed to be hanging back from the group that he was unwelcome in the conversation.

Blaine was the first to turn when Kurt called out to them, and his face immediately brightened when he caught sight of Kurt. It was clear to Kurt that in that moment, Blaine wanted nothing more than to get out of this horrendously awkward situation. As he caught up to where his friends were standing, Kurt immediately reached into his pocket and extracted his car keys so as not to waste any time searching for them. He wanted to get out of there just as much as Blaine did – he was starting to worry that if he stuck around the rest of the guys any longer, he wouldn't be responsible for the actions he would inevitably take.

"Hey, Blaine, ready to cut out?" He saw no need to acknowledge anyone else in the group.

Blaine had eagerly started toward Kurt before the words were even out of his mouth. "Yeah, let's go."

Polite as he was, though, he turned and waved to the rest of the guys as he and Kurt started walking away. His cheerful "See ya guys tomorrow," was undoubtedly the first thing he'd said since joining the group by the flagpole to wait for Kurt.

"Hummel, wait up."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he turned to see Finn calling after him. By now, he was so aggravated with his friends that he made no effort to hide the annoyance in his voice. "What? What do you want?"

"You coming to the drag race this us this weekend?" He made no effort to invite Blaine.

Kurt shook his head. "Can't. I'll be out of town."

"Aw, c'mon, Hummel," Puck protested. "You haven't come to a race with us in forever. You know more about cars than the rest of us combined. It's not as much fun without you there."

"Yeah, c'mon. What else've you got to do?" Sam chimed in.

Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. "Blaine, my dad, and I are going up to Lake Erie for my family's big Labor Day picnic-barbecue thing. We're leaving Friday right after school and we won't be back til late Monday night."

"Wait, wait." Mike raised one eyebrow suspiciously as he glanced at Blaine. "_He's _going with you?"

"Yeah, why don't any of us get to come? We could all go surfing or something. It'd be a blast," Sam agreed.

"It's a lake, Sam. You can't surf, the waves aren't big enough," Kurt informed him. "It's a family tradition. My dad and I go every year. Blaine's staying at our place for the time being, so we thought we'd invite him to tag along. We're not just gonna leave him to sit at our house alone."

Puck sighed exasperatedly, obviously unhappy with Kurt's explanation. "Jesus, Hummel, you two spend enough time together as it is. Next thing we know, you two will be lovers."

Kurt discreetly grabbed Blaine's arm and began to maneuver him away, mumbling under his breath. "C'mon, Blaine, let's go."

"Yeah, at this rate, when you guys get back from the lake, you'll probably be each other's homo boyfriends or something," Finn called after them. Kurt heard an eruption of laughter break from the group, but he didn't dare turn around. He couldn't even imagine what his face must have looked like, and he knew that if he turned to look at them, his guilty expression would certainly let the guys know that they were absolutely right.

Thankfully, they were considerably far enough away from the group that it was easy to pretend that they simply hadn't heard Finn's remark. Kurt eventually let go of Blaine's arm and continued walking toward his car, staring straight ahead and trying not to let any emotion show on his face whatsoever.

Blaine kept a nervous eye on Kurt until they'd made it to the car. He could tell Kurt was obviously very upset, and he wished more than anything that he could say or do something to comfort him, but unfortunately that wouldn't be able to happen – not while they were still in such a public setting. It seemed that Kurt didn't even so much as breathe until they were safely in the car, when he let out a loud sigh as he slammed the door shut.

"Jesus, they're really starting to piss me off." He reached into the pocket of his black leather jacket and extracted a pack of cigarettes. "I need a smoke. Want one?"

Blaine shook his head as Kurt offered him the pack. "No, thank you."

"Good for you. It's a nasty habit. I don't care much for it," Kurt admitted as he lit his cigarette all the same. "I try not to do it that much. Usually just when I'm with the guys or when I'm pissed off and need to blow off some steam, literally."

He cranked down his window to allow for some ventilation as he pulled out of his parking spot and moved toward the edge of the lot. "Which means that if those assholes keep acting the way they do, I'll probably start to go through a pack a day. Could you _believe _what they said?"

It took Blaine a few seconds to answer, because he was distracted for a few seconds. He knew it seemed weird, but Kurt was actually pretty hot when he was mad. There was just something about the way Kurt's normally innocent, angelic face was overcome with angry passion. Blaine got the feeling that not many people got to see this side of Kurt Hummel.

"Do you think they've figured out what's going on between us?" he asked warily, bringing attention to the elephant in the room (well, car).

Kurt blew a cloud of smoke out of his mouth as he slowed down to stop at a red light, shaking his head after he thought for a second. "I don't think so. They were just making a stupid joke. If they _really _knew what was going on, Finn would have called us out right then and there."

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked as the light turned green and Kurt proceeded through the intersection.

"Yeah, trust me. I've known Finn since the sixth grade. I'm all too familiar with how he operates," Kurt told him. "We just have to be extra careful around them from now on."

Neither of them said a word for a few minutes. Kurt finished his cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray that was fitted into the door. At the next red light, he pulled a tin of Altoids out of his pocket and popped a couple of mints into his mouth so as not to have smoker's breath when he inevitably kissed Blaine later on.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked all of a sudden. It was the first thing either of them had said for a few silent minutes.

Kurt quickly swallowed the mints he was sucking on. "Yeah?"

"What happens…," Blaine's voice was quiet; he cleared his throat and spoke a bit more loudly, although there was still a hint of timidity in his voice. "What happens if people find out?"

Kurt knew what he meant. "We might have to stop going to school," he admitted. "It'd be too dangerous to stay there. And there would be a whole lot of people trying to get us into the asylum."

"Oh, right," Blaine said sarcastically. "We're criminally insane. I forgot."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Of course, don't you remember? Our love for each other is detrimental to the fabric of society as a whole. Never mind the fact that it doesn't affect anyone else's life at all."

He pulled into his driveway, and Blaine finally felt safe to tell him what he'd wanted to say all day long. "I love you so much, Kurt."

Blaine's tender smile and the warm affection glowing in his hazel eyes was enough to render Kurt speechless for a moment.

"I love you, too," he said softly once he remembered how to speak. He smiled at Blaine and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "C'mon, let's get inside so I can kiss you."

They got out of the car, Kurt giving a friendly wave to his next-door neighbor who was out watering her garden, and scurried inside. Kurt knew his father would be at the shop all afternoon, so he and Blaine had the house to themselves for a few more hours. When they made it inside, Kurt eagerly pushed Blaine up against the closed front door and was about to give him the kiss they'd both been anticipating, but Blaine stopped him before their lips could meet. "Wait."

Kurt was confused until Blaine slipped away and quickly stepped out into the living room to pull the blinds down over the wide-open window.

"Thank god you noticed that," he breathed through a sigh of relief. There was no telling what would happen to them if, by chance, one of the neighbors had happened to glance in the general direction of their house only to see the two boys kissing passionately. Kurt could have sworn that his heart froze cold for a second as he considered the possibility of that happening.

But all was forgotten when Blaine, with Kurt's favorite sweet smile on his face, reappeared in front of him. He cupped Kurt's face between both of his hands and stood on his tiptoes to give him a kiss so passionate that Kurt was practically swept off his feet. He wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist to keep himself upright and kissed him back, thinking for a delirious second that if they _had _to keep this a secret, it was well worth it. In Kurt's mind, the fact that they shared something so deeply private and personal just exemplified their love. He would gladly keep it a secret for the rest of his life, as long as he got to be with Blaine.

xxx

The rest of the week seemed to drag on interminably, but in retrospect, it seemed that it had practically flown by. Before Blaine knew it, he was packed into the backseat of the Crestliner in between Kurt and a pile of luggage. Burt was behind the wheel, and the three of them were on their way up to the lake. It would be Blaine's first real trip that wasn't part of a concert tour in almost four years, and the fact that he would get to spend an unprecedented amount of time with Kurt just made it even better.

Kurt's relatives had a cozy little waterfront cottage right along the lake. The majority of the extended family was already there when Burt, Kurt and Blaine arrived, and as he got out of the car and followed the two Hummels up to the front door, Blaine was nervous for the first time all day. He wasn't sure what Kurt's family would think of him – what if they hated him like his so-called friends at school did? They all knew that he was coming – Burt had called earlier in the week and explained the situation – but Blaine had no idea how everyone was going to react.

As it turned out, his worries proved unnecessary, because Blaine was immediately welcomed into the home without any hesitation. Hugs were given all around – Blaine found himself being pulled into so many enthusiastic embraces that his head was starting to spin. Most of said hugs were given to him by Kurt's ecstatic female relatives – especially his teenage cousins, one of whom practically fainted when she first caught sight of Blaine and who squealed when Kurt told her that Blaine had become his best friend. Blaine had to resist sharing a mischievous smirk with Kurt as the girls fluttered around him, all of them chattering away at a mile a minute. If they only knew what was _really _going on between Blaine and their own flesh and blood.

Blaine didn't mind the attention, though. He was used to being fawned over by teenage girls, so he'd essentially become desensitized to that part of fame, but they weren't the only ones showing him remarkable hospitality. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly toward him – even Kurt's male cousins, all of whom greeted Blaine with a genuine friendliness that couldn't have differed more from the fake indifference afforded him by Finn and the guys at school.

The guys even invited Blaine to come out in the yard and toss the football with them, an offer which Blaine readily accepted. He'd never been one of the guys like this before, and the fact that Kurt's cousins were treating him as if they'd known him all his life meant more to him than he could say. Kurt decided to pass on the football-tossing, claiming a total lack of hand-eye coordination when it came to sports. He watched from the front porch, and Blaine couldn't help stealing a glance over at him every once in a while to see how he was doing.

If the gigantic smile on Kurt's face as he watched Blaine toss the football and be a _normal guy _for once in his life was any indication, Kurt couldn't have been happier.

xxx

After the whole group reunited for dinner that evening, everyone more or less dispersed to do their own thing. In Kurt's case, he really just wanted to spend time with Blaine, seeing as how they'd hardly gotten to be alone all day. He quietly excused the two of them, telling only his father that he was taking Blaine for a walk along the beach. Burt agreed to cover for them in case anyone inquired as to their whereabouts.

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon as they started off along the shore. Once they were a considerable distance away from the house, Kurt reached for Blaine's hand and linked their fingers together.

Blaine looked at Kurt with admitted shock. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Kurt told him. "Nobody ever comes down this far."

They continued walking in peaceful silence for a few more minutes, during which time Blaine couldn't help but steal a glance at Kurt out of the corner of his eye. Kurt had forgone his usual leather-jacket-and-jeans ensemble in favor of a nautical-looking striped tank top and fitted boxer-style swim trunks. His hair was messier than it usually was – it didn't even look like he'd put any product in it at all. He was showing much more skin than he usually did – and Blaine couldn't lie, he liked that a lot – but there was something different in his demeanor as they walked along the beach. For some reason, Blaine got the feeling that this stripped-down version of Kurt Hummel was completely different from the rough-and-tough kid he had to be at school.

"You're different," Blaine observed out loud. It was the first word either of them had said in a good ten minutes.

Kurt turned to look at him, raising one eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Blaine shrugged. He wasn't exactly sure how to verbalize what he'd been thinking. "Just today. Ever since we've been here with your family, it's like you're a totally different person than when you're with the guys at school. You seem more like…yourself."

Kurt opened his mouth but no words came out. It didn't seem like he knew how to respond to that, so Blaine continued.

"To me, you're always the same sweet, beautiful, loving boy I fell in love with. You don't treat me any different no matter what situation we're in. But with other people…I don't know, I just get the feeling you're more comfortable here."

Kurt was quiet for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft that Blaine could hardly hear him.

"I feel like I belong here," he admitted. "I _know _I do, actually. I never have to worry about being myself around my family. But with Finn and Puck and those guys at school…I feel like I have to be the person _they _want me to be."

He sighed wistfully as he continued. "I don't want to go to drag races every weekend. I mean, sure, I like cars and I like helping my dad at his shop, but I feel like there's so much more to life than that. I don't want to wear that hideous leather jacket every day just to feel like I fit in with them. I don't want to smoke – I wish I'd never started. That guy you see when we're with the gang like that…that guy isn't _me_, Blaine."

His voice broke as he finished, almost as if he were about to cry, but he didn't dare shed a tear. They'd stopped walking by this point, though their hands were still intertwined, and Blaine looked at him for a long time before saying, as gently as possible, "I know."

Kurt finally allowed himself to meet Blaine's eyes. "You know what?"

"I know who you really are," Blaine said. He turned to face Kurt, holding both of his hands tenderly as he looked into his eyes. "You're Kurt Hummel. You're my beautiful boy and the love of my life. You're sweet, kind, understanding, caring…you're a wonderful person, and I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. Maybe then you'd have the courage to be your amazing self."

Kurt didn't say a word for a while. He bit his lip and his eyes darted away from Blaine's for a few fleeting seconds as he thought about what he wanted to say.

"I like Broadway musicals," he said softly after a long time.

Color Blaine intrigued. He never would have guessed. "Really?"

Kurt nodded. "Oh, yes. Even more than I like fixing cars. Don't tell the guys that, though." He rolled his eyes before continuing. "And I like fashion. Believe me, there are _so _many more attractive clothes I'd rather wear than a plain old stupid leather jacket and jeans. I've been saving most of the money that my dad pays me at the shop. Someday I'd really like to go shopping and buy a few high-end designer items so I could actually be happy with what I wear."

"What else?" Blaine asked, completely fascinated by this whole new Kurt that was unfolding right before his eyes.

"I don't like going out with the guys, at least not all the time. Once in a while it's fun, but sometimes I'd really just rather stay home, put a record on, and curl up with a cup of coffee and a really good book. I like to write, too, but I'm not very good at it."

Blaine squeezed his hands and smiled encouragingly. "See, Kurt, that's the side of you that you shouldn't be afraid to show. Why would you be ashamed of that?"

Kurt laughed humorlessly. "Blaine, I hate to put it this way, but when you say that, it's pretty obvious that you haven't spent a whole lot of time around guys our age."

Blaine looked legitimately confused as to what he meant by that, so Kurt continued. "You've gotta be tough in order to be cool. Liking musicals and fashion and all that stuff I just listed off is basically the polar opposite of 'tough' in their books. Do you _know _what they'd call me if I walked into school wearing anything besides that awful leather jacket? I've kept this part of me hidden for so long that I almost forgot that this is who I really am."

"Why do you care so much what they think?" Blaine asked firmly but gently in response.

That was enough to stun Kurt into dumbstruck silence for a few seconds. He stared at Blaine for a speechless moment before choking back a gasp and collapsing against Blaine, into his arms.

"God, I'm such an idiot," Kurt mumbled into Blaine's shoulder. It wasn't until he spoke that Blaine realized he was crying, and that only made him pull Kurt closer. Kurt had never cried in front of him before, and Blaine wanted him to know that it was okay and that Blaine wasn't going to laugh at him or judge him.

"You're not an idiot." Blaine placed one hand on the side of Kurt's face, gently maneuvering his head up so he could look straight into those beautiful, beautiful eyes. "And just because you've got a sweet, sensitive side doesn't mean you're not tough."

Kurt sniffed back a sob and reached up to smear the tears from his eyes. "But there's a stigma that comes with being a guy and liking stuff like that. Finn and them will try to say I'm not a real man or some garbage like that."

"Kurt," Blaine said slowly, "not to take away from the seriousness of this moment and make it sexual, but…"

He trailed off and let his hand wander down the front of Kurt's swim trunks, curling his fingers around his soft length, and Kurt closed his eyes and exhaled a shuddering moan at the sudden sensation. "_OhmygodBlaine_."

"I think it's quite _obvious _that you're a man," Blaine continued, his eyes darkening with lust. He gave Kurt's cock a lingering stroke before extracting his hand again. "And you want to know what else I think?"

"What?" Kurt whispered.

"The Kurt Hummel _I _know is brave," Blaine affirmed. "He wouldn't be afraid to be himself."

That prompted a tiny smile from Kurt. "What makes you say that?"

Blaine laughed. "Do you remember the night we met? You were brave enough to call me up at the hotel after the concert, even though we'd barely spoken to each other," he reminded him. "I was the complete opposite. I had just given a gorgeous boy my number and told him to call me, and I was scared shitless. I don't think I've ever been that nervous in my life, but I knew I wanted to hear your voice again. And you did it. You took a chance and you called me. And I couldn't be happier that you did, because look what that one phone call has led to."

Kurt smiled as he considered this. "I'd go so far as to say that calling you that evening was the best decision I've made in my entire life."

The smile gave Blaine him in return, under the brilliant orange glow of the now-setting sun, was so beautiful that it struck Kurt breathless for a moment. Thankfully, Blaine opened his mouth to speak and thus saved him from his sudden inability to think straight, much less verbalize a coherent sentence. What he said, though, took Kurt completely by surprise.

"I want to take you to New York," Blaine declared. "You ever been? We'll go, just you and me. I want to take you to a real live Broadway show."

Kurt's mouth fell open but no words came out. He felt a smile growing onto his face and he figured he must have looked rather ridiculous standing there with a goofy grin and his mouth wide open. He imagined what that would be like – visiting New York, the city of his dreams, with Blaine, the love of his life – and found that he couldn't imagine anything he'd rather do. When he finally was able to speak, his voice came as a breathless whisper.

"Oh, Blaine, that sounds wonderful." He paused. "But are you sure? Traveling can be so expensive, and I don't want you to have to go out of your way to spend money on me…"

"Kurt," Blaine said calmly as he trailed off, "I hate to say this because it makes me sound like I'm full of myself, but money wouldn't necessarily be a problem for me."

Kurt was silent for a moment as he considered this. Truth be told, now that the idea was out there, he wanted to do this more than anything in the world.

"I've never been out of Ohio," he admitted shyly. "But I've been dreaming of New York my whole life…Blaine, this can't be real."

"What do you mean, it can't be real?" Blaine asked in response with an adorable little smile that absolutely melted Kurt's heart. "I just put the offer out there. When would you like to go?...oh, I know! I should take you at Christmas. New York at Christmastime is magical. And that would give me an excuse to go there and do a concert, just so I don't fade completely into oblivion…it's perfect. What do you say?"

He was rambling, his mouth moving a mile a minute as the words tumbled out in a jumble of excitement. Kurt was absolutely touched to see that Blaine was already pouring his heart into this spur-of-the-moment idea.

Kurt felt a blush warming his face, but he forced himself to at least try to keep eye contact as he responded.

"It's just…things like this don't happen to people like me," he admitted. "I'm a kid from a small town in Ohio. I like boys, which apparently means there's something wrong with me. Those two things should be enough to stigmatize me for life…but now I'm with the guy I've been secretly dreaming about since _forever_, and he loves me just as much as I love him, and now you're offering to take me to a Broadway show in _New York_…Blaine, this is all so far beyond my wildest dreams. I..I honestly can't believe _anything _that's happened over the past few months."

"I don't know how I can make you believe it, but I guess I'm kind of in the same boat because I never thought I'd get to be with a boy like you. I never thought I'd get to be with a boy, period. I thought this was something I'd have to keep secret for the rest of my life." Blaine gave him an exhilarated smile and squeezed his hands. "So will you come with me? I want you to embrace yourself exactly as you are, Kurt. You have nothing to hide. You're beautiful."

Kurt _felt _beautiful – inside and out – when Blaine said to him. Instead of giving him a verbal response, he leaned in, cupped Blaine's face gently between his hands, and kissed him softly on the lips. He let his mouth linger for a second before pulling back and looking Blaine straight in the eyes.

"Does that answer your question?" He looked so stunning under the fading glow of daytime that Blaine was struck breathless for a second. They were close enough to the water that the waves lapped up over their feet as they came in and touched the shore every couple of seconds or so. It was so calm and peaceful on the empty beach that Blaine felt as if he and Kurt were the only two people in the world.

He grinned mischievously. "It did, but I don't think I quite got the message…tell me again."

Kurt kissed him again. And again. And once again after that. After breaking apart from the third quick, successive kiss, Blaine looked him in the eyes and gave him yet another ornery grin.

"So…that was a yes, am I correct? Because I think I need just _one _more kiss…"

Kurt stared at him for a moment before it sunk in. He rolled his eyes playfully and smiled as he broke free from Blaine's embrace and stepped further out into the water until it was slightly above his ankles.

"Oh no, mister. If you want any more kisses, you'll have to come and get me."

Blaine pouted. "That's not fair, Kurt. The water's freezing."

Kurt shrugged as he took a few steps backwards further out into the water. "Oh well, then. I guess you don't want those kisses."

Blaine, suddenly overcome with the urge to prove him wrong, bit back a smile as he took a step into the water. He tried not to wince and step immediately back once he realized how cold it was – which didn't take long – and instead kept advancing toward Kurt, who was standing in water that was up past his knees.

Just as Blaine was about to reach out and take him in his arms, though, Kurt smiled flirtatiously as he stepped away from Blaine and began heading up toward the shore again.

"Y'know what? On second thought, I think I'd rather stand up here. You're right, this water is freezing."

"Oh, come on," Blaine protested. "I got to where you were standing. You owe me kisses."

"And my part of the deal still stands," Kurt informed him. "If you want to kiss me, you have to come and get me."

There was a sparkle of mischief dancing in his beautiful eyes, and suddenly Blaine caught on to what he was planning on doing. "Kurt, no. You wouldn't."

"Oh, but I would," Kurt said innocently as he started walking, sauntering casually along the shore. "In case you haven't figured it out yet tonight…there's a lot about me that might surprise you."

And with that, he was off and running in a dead sprint, leaving a stunned Blaine in his wake. Blaine stood there in shock for a second, letting the waves crash over his feet, before he too broke away running after Kurt.

"Kurt!" he shouted as he sprinted to catch up. Kurt had already gotten quite a head start, and he was surprisingly fast – Blaine knew he'd have to push for a hell of a lot of speed if he wanted to catch him. "Get back here!"

He heard Kurt laugh from up ahead in the distance, and for some reason the sound made Blaine all the more eager to catch up and claim his kisses. He pushed himself to go even faster, and before long it almost felt like he was flying over the sand. It had been too long since he'd gotten to be this wild and carefree, and he was going to cherish every second of it.

When Kurt heard Blaine approaching, he slowed down just the slightest bit. He knew he was perfectly capable of outrunning Blaine – he was taller, after all, so his legs and stride were longer – but in all honesty, he wanted those kisses just as much as Blaine did. When Blaine finally wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind and pulled him to a stop, he couldn't help letting a smile spread across his face as he burst into an involuntary fit of giggles.

Blaine spun Kurt around to face him and looked into his eyes with faux seriousness. "I believe you have something for me?"

"That's correct," Kurt told him. He kept his gaze locked with Blaine's for a second longer as they both gasped to catch their breath – well, he _tried _to keep their eye contact, anyway. Blaine, it seemed, could only look into Kurt's eyes (as captivating as they were) for about half a second before his gaze would inevitably flicker down to his lips. Blaine could never quite get enough of Kurt's lips.

Fortunately for him, though, he didn't have to wait much longer at all before Kurt placed one hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer to lock their lips together. This kiss was nothing like the quick, playful ones they'd shared earlier – this was tender and passionate and slow. It was the kind of kiss that reminded Blaine just how deeply in love with Kurt he'd fallen and how willing he was to keep this a secret for the rest of his life if it meant they could be together like this. He knew it would be a struggle to try and keep his love for Kurt hidden, especially when all he wanted to do was scream it proudly to the entire world, but he would do whatever it took to ensure that Kurt would be his forever.

Blaine wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted; all he knew was that it had been perfect. When they finally broke away, the sky was almost dark. Kurt gave him a tiny smile as he tenderly placed one hand on the side of Blaine's face.

"Was that worth the freezing cold water and running until you were out of breath?" Kurt asked softly.

Blaine exhaled a breathless sigh and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, pulling him even closer as he whispered his reply.

"Always."


	18. Chapter 18

18

Blaine soon came to realize, over the course of the weekend that they spent by the lake, that Kurt and his teenage cousins and the friends of said cousins were a totally different breed than most of the kids who attended McKinley High back in Lima. He actually felt like he _belonged _with this crowd, as opposed to with his classmates back home, most of who still refused to see him as anything beyond a major pop superstar. On the other hand, after a brief and inevitable freakout on behalf of the girls upon first meeting Blaine, Kurt's extended family had treated him just like any normal kid, which had been his hope all along after making the decision to temporarily step out of the limelight.

That Saturday afternoon, he found himself playing a pickup game of beach volleyball with Kurt, a few of his cousins, and some random local kids who had been hanging out on the beach. That hour or so that he spent bumping and setting and spiking the ball with other kids his age was one of the first times in his experience as a "normal" teenager that Blaine felt he could really step out of his shell and enjoy himself among his peers. At the end of the game, when their team won, Kurt raced across the court and practically jumped on Blaine as he crushed him in a victorious hug. Nobody else was bothered enough by the seemingly friendly embrace to speak up and say something to them about it, and Blaine couldn't help but think about how different of a reaction they'd get if they had been playing with Finn and Puck and Mike and Sam back home.

When the sky began to grow dark, the group worked together to build a campfire and gathered around it to roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. Kurt and Blaine pulled a blanket around themselves to share when it began to get cold. Once again, nobody said a word to them. Blaine figured that either nobody noticed what they were doing or nobody cared, but either way, he was happy. The world needed more people like these folks, he decided.

The only thing that bothered him was the fact that he and Kurt had to sleep separately in order to avoid arousing too much suspicion. As welcoming as everyone had been to him, Blaine knew that spilling his and Kurt's secret would be taking things much too far. As far as everyone knew, the two of them were friends, and that was all that they needed to know. Still, Blaine had grown accustomed to falling asleep in Kurt's arms back at home, and he would be lying if he said he didn't sleep as well without his boy there to hold him. But he knew he had to get used to it, because sooner or later, his parents would find a place of their own in Lima and he would have to move away from his temporary home at the Hummels' and with Kurt. He knew that this was essentially for the best.

The last night they spent at Kurt's relatives' house, Blaine was just about to fall asleep in his bed in the guest bedroom. He and Kurt had said goodnight and sneaked a quick kiss less than an hour ago, and he figured Kurt was probably fast asleep on the couch downstairs. His eyelids were growing heavy, and as they fell shut, he smiled as he thought of Kurt and imagined that they were snuggled up together. His imagination wasn't as good as the real thing, but it would do for now.

But suddenly he heard the faint sound of someone opening the door and stepping quietly into the bedroom. On instinct, he sat up and squinted through half-closed eyes to see who it was, and his eyes flew wide open when he realized that it was Kurt.

"What are you doing here?" As exhausted as Blaine was, he couldn't help smiling.

Kurt seemed just as happy to see him, and even a little bit excited. He stayed in the doorway and motioned for Blaine to get up and out of bed. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Blaine trusted Kurt so much that he didn't feel the need to ask any questions. He crawled out of bed and slipped his feet into his sandals before following Kurt out of the room – and eventually out of the house.

He didn't speak up until the back door had been closed quietly and discreetly behind them. "Where are we going?"

Kurt smiled just the tiniest bit, as if he had a juicy secret that he couldn't wait to tell. He stole a quick glance back at the house before lacing his fingers into the spaces between Blaine's.

"I want to show you my favorite place in the entire world," he said simply.

They walked along the beach in comfortable silence for a long time. Blaine knew that there should have been something eerie about the way the dark waves kept moving in and out from the shore, but instead he found the motion strangely peaceful. The beach was beautiful at night – a stark contrast to the crowded liveliness that had filled it during the sunny afternoon – and as he walked hand-in-hand with Kurt, Blaine felt a complete sense of inner peace.

Eventually Kurt began leading him away from the shore toward a small hill that looked as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be grassy or sandy. They walked up the hill, and when they reached the top, Kurt spread out a blanket that Blaine hadn't even realized he'd been carrying in his other hand. He lay down on top of it and gestured for Blaine to join him, so of course Blaine did.

Kurt was lying on his back with his hands clasped behind his head. He stared up at the stars, his voice small as he spoke.

"The very first year I remember coming here to the lake," he said, his voice far away in the past as he reminisced, "my mom brought me up to this spot and showed me the stars. I couldn't have been more than four or five years old. That was back when my father was away serving in the war, and I missed him, so to make me feel better she told me that these were the same stars he was seeing every night, wherever he was."

He paused to let a tiny smile appear on his face as he reminisced. Blaine looked at him in quiet awe as he continued.

"This kind of became a tradition for us, even after my dad got home. Every year, when we came up for this little family gathering at the lake, my mom and I would always go stargazing here. She showed me some of the constellations, but I don't remember them." Kurt laughed dryly a little bit. "And even after she passed away, I still kept coming here by myself every year. I'm not sure why I like it so much. It's just…it's special to me, I guess."

"It really is a special place," Blaine agreed, staring up at the dotted nighttime sky above them in complete awe. "I've never seen so many stars in my life."

"Isn't it beautiful?" Kurt murmured, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at the sky. "You see all those stars up there, and you realize how small and insignificant we are here on earth. It makes you realize that there's something so much bigger than us."

Blaine was no longer looking at the sky. The heavenly expanse of stars was gorgeous, but its beauty paled in comparison to that of the boy lying beside him. Kurt was more breathtaking than ever with his pale skin and captivating eyes shining in the moonlight, and suddenly Blaine couldn't take his eyes off of him.

He reached over and took one of Kurt's hands, holding it affectionately as he spoke.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes darted over to meet his gaze, but he could only hold eye contact for a second before he looked away bashfully. He bit his lip self-consciously, and it was hard to tell in the darkness, but Blaine knew full well that his cheeks were probably a fair shade of red now.

"You don't mean that." Kurt's voice was tinged with self-doubt as he responded.

"I do mean it," Blaine clarified firmly. He raised Kurt's hand up to his lips and placed a chaste kiss to the back of it. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

"But you've seen so much and done so much," Kurt said in disbelief. "You've traveled so far and had experiences that kids like me could only dream about. And out of everything that's happened to you, _I'm _the best?"

"The very best." Blaine smiled and laced his fingers completely through the spaces between Kurt's. "And if you'll let me, I want to share some of my experiences with you. Once we're both done with school, I want to travel the world with you. I want to take you places beyond your wildest dreams. I mean it, Kurt. I want to share my life with you."

Blaine was a big dreamer, and Kurt knew that and loved it about him. But these weren't even dreams anymore – knowing Blaine, these were future plans that were actually going to happen. Kurt knew that once Blaine had his heart set on something like this, he would find one way or another to make it happen, no matter what. He considered everything that Blaine had just said and found that, try as he might, he couldn't think of anything that could possibly be more perfect.

"Oh, Blaine, that sounds wonderful," he whispered. "If anything, it would get us out of that awful small town where we have to watch every move we make. I want to see the entire world with you."

"And we will," Blaine promised him. "Starting with New York. That is, if you still want to go."

Kurt nodded eagerly. "I'd like that," he said softly. "It sounds like a perfect way to begin our adventure."

He turned to face Blaine again, this time not too bashful to make eye contact, and smiled lovingly. As Blaine looked into his eyes, he knew that there was no doubt in his mind that this was the person he was meant to share the rest of his life with. He didn't give a damn about what the rest of society thought anymore. He knew and Kurt knew that this was meant to be, and they would find a way to make it work so that they could be together.

They lay there for a long time, hands still linked together as they stared up at the stars. At one point, Kurt must have been getting tired, because he unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn before lifting his head up and placing it on Blaine's chest. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt to hold him close and smiled at him as he spoke.

"Thank you for bringing me here tonight, Kurt." He kissed the side of Kurt's face and watched the other boy's eyes slowly flutter closed for the briefest of seconds. "This is beautiful."

"I'm glad you liked it," Kurt murmured as he snuggled closer against Blaine. "I told you it was my favorite place on earth, and now you can see why."

They both knew that they needed to get up at some point and go back to the house so that they could go to sleep, but that never happened. Both of them eventually let their eyes fall shut, and when Blaine opened his again, the sky was starting to turn the slightest shade of pink.

He almost sat up with a start before realizing that Kurt was still sleeping peacefully with his head on Blaine's chest. _Oh, shit_. This was not good. They'd stayed out here all night, and now the sun was about to come up.

Suddenly an idea came to mind. He ducked his head to start kissing whatever part of Kurt he could reach first – which in this case was the top of his ear. They were already out, so there was no point in going back now.

Kurt's eyes drowsily lifted open before he suddenly became aware of his surroundings and the fact that he was lying on a hill on the beach. He sat up with a start and his hand flew to his chest as if he were trying to protect his heart from flying right through.

"Oh my god, we have to get back." He turned around. "Blaine?"

Blaine was still lying down on the blanket. He had a tiny, peaceful smile on his face and didn't appear to be freaked out at all. Kurt looked at him in confusion for a second before he spoke.

"Stay here and watch the sunrise with me." He sat up and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind, hooking his chin over the other boy's shoulder so he could stare out over the water. Kurt found himself relaxing more and more with each passing second. Waking up unexpectedly on the beach had obviously been an unexpected shock, but Blaine's mere proximity was enough to calm him down.

He settled in to watch the sky turn a beautiful light shade of pink as the sun peeked out from under the horizon. The whole time, though, he was hyperaware of Blaine's skin against his own and the warmth of his breath occasionally tickling his ear. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply as he tried to wrap his mind around just how perfect this moment actually was. _You are watching the sun rise with the most beautiful boy in the world, and last night you slept under the stars with him. He's holding you in his arms and he loves and accepts you exactly as you are. Your life is like crazy, Kurt. _

Suddenly the beauty of the sunrise seemed insignificant, and he turned around to look Blaine in the eyes. Blaine met his gaze with the tiniest, most adoring smile that lit his hazel eyes up with affection. Kurt was overwhelmed with love and placed one hand on the side of Blaine's face before leaning in to kiss him softly and sweetly on the lips. It still seemed surreal to him that he could do this – that he could actually kiss Blaine whenever he wanted, provided that the two of them were completely alone together. A few months ago, he never would have dreamed that he'd ever get a chance to taste those perfect lips.

He was about to pull away, but then he felt Blaine smiling beneath his lips and he couldn't help going in for another. The only thing more incredible than seeing Blaine's infectious smile, Kurt thought, was feeling that same smile pressed up against his own mouth as they kissed. He kept his mouth locked with Blaine's, kissing him slowly and tenderly and only breaking away when he absolutely needed to breathe.

"Okay, wow," Blaine murmured in breathless disbelief as he leaned his forehead against Kurt's to keep their faces close. "You are unreal, Kurt."

"At kissing?" Kurt asked, coy innocence saturating his tone, and he smiled flirtatiously when Blaine nodded. "Well, what can I say? I've learned from the best." He was still grinning the tiniest bit as he closed the distance between them with another soft kiss on Blaine's lips.

He pulled away much too soon and pretended he didn't notice the way Blaine instinctively chased his lips for another. "C'mon, let's get going. We need to get back to the house before everyone else wakes up and realizes we're gone."

As much as Blaine would have loved to stay out here kissing Kurt on the beach all day long, he knew that leaving was probably a good idea. He stood up and began walking with him back in the direction they'd came, and since nobody else was out on the beach this early, they kept their hands intertwined until they were close enough to be seen from the house.

It was just barely seven in the morning, and the house was completely silent when they returned. Nobody was awake just yet, and Kurt figured that it would probably be another hour or so before people started to get up – and maybe even later than that, seeing as how it was a weekend and everyone would probably want to sleep in. He walked Blaine back to his guest bedroom and closed the door behind the two of them as they shared one last kiss, then reluctantly left the room and headed back out to his own makeshift bed on the couch.

He knew he wasn't going to be able to get much more sleep, but that was okay. As he snuggled into the surprisingly comfortable couch and pulled his blanket closer around him, he quickly fell right back to sleep and dreamed of his boy the whole time.

xxx

Leaving the house by the lake at the end of the long weekend was, as trivial as it seemed, one of the hardest things Blaine had had to do in his life. He wished he could stay there forever with these people who didn't treat him like some kind of subhuman piece of trash, but it was time to face the music of reality once again and head back to Lima, where the guys he was expected to befriend treated him exactly as such. He held on tightly to Kurt's hand for the entire three-hour duration of the ride home, because he needed a tangible reminder that there was _someone _in this world who would always be there, no matter how the rest of the world treated him.

When Burt finally pulled into the driveway, the first thing all three of them noticed was a white piece of paper taped to the front door. Kurt got out of the car and headed up the porch to see what it was, and Blaine followed him for no other reason than the fact that he had the strangest suspicion that whatever was on the door had to do with him.

Sure enough, his intuition had been correct. Kurt took the note off the door, skimmed it for a few seconds, and handed it wordlessly to Blaine.

It was from his parents. Blaine knew that their leaving a note for him here shouldn't have felt as strange as it did – after all, he'd given them the Hummels' home address in case they needed to locate him – but for some reason, he was already uneasy even before he began to read the short lines inscribed on the paper.

_Blaine -_

I don't know where you are, but it appears nobody is home. Your father and I have found a beautiful home on the east side of town and have already begun to move in. Please give us a bell when you see this so that we can make arrangements to get you moved in as well. 

His mother's signature was dashed off at the bottom, and below that was a phone number. Blaine felt himself becoming number and number as his eyes scanned over her impersonal words once, twice, three times. He couldn't believe this. He knew he'd have to leave Kurt's home eventually once his parents found a place of their own, but now that it had happened, it felt like a bolt of lightning had pierced through the sky and shocked him into harsh reality.

He didn't want to go, as juvenile as it sounded. He didn't want to leave the one person who had loved him so completely for his entire self and go to live with the people who saw him only as some kind of musically gifted moneymaking machine.

He looked up at Kurt with tears glistening in his hazel eyes. "I have to leave."

"I know," Kurt said emotionlessly, nodding a little bit. Blaine couldn't read his expression. "But…we knew this was going to happen eventually."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Blaine countered. "I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want to be away from you, Kurt. You're the only person that I feel completely normal around. I…I don't want to let that go."

"You have to," Kurt told him forcefully, despite the uneasiness that singed his own voice. "That doesn't mean we can't be together. We just have to be extra careful."

"See, I hate that we have to be careful," Blaine mumbled. "Why can't we just be ourselves? We're not hurting anyone just by loving each other."

"I know." Kurt nodded solemnly in understanding. "But can you promise me one thing?"

Blaine finally forced himself to meet Kurt's eyes. "Anything."

"Promise me that you'll stop being so hard on yourself," Kurt requested. "I _know _you can be strong without me there all the time. You just don't know your own strength."

As Blaine looked into those stunning glasz eyes, it soon became clear to him that Kurt was right. He'd been depending on Kurt for so long, using him as some kind of crutch as he attempted to assimilate into normal teenage culture, and now that he was going to be living with his own family once again, he wouldn't always have Kurt there with him to help him out. He knew Kurt would always stand by him no matter what, but he also had to let go a little bit and try his best to be his own person.

He nodded and spoke in a whisper so soft that Kurt almost didn't hear it. "Okay."

They were standing out in plain view in front of the house, which meant that they couldn't do anything to openly show their affection, but Kurt still discreetly grabbed Blaine's hand and held onto it for just a second before letting go.

"And I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going anywhere," he told Blaine, his voice quiet but firm. "I'll always be here for you and I'll always love you even though we're not living together anymore." He knew that going back to live with his disapproving parents, who didn't appreciate their son's obvious talent except in situations where it somehow benefited them financially, was the last thing Blaine wanted to do. Kurt figured that the least he could do was reassure the love of his life that things weren't going to change the two of them despite the new change in living arrangements.

"I know," Blaine told him with a smile, because he _did _know – nothing had ever been more obvious to him than Kurt's undeniable love. "And we'll still get to see each other after school, right?"

"Of course we can," Kurt promised him. "You're always welcome here, and I would never be opposed to spending time with you. We'll find a way to make it work even with your parents being so close."

Blaine smiled softly at him. "I love you so much, Kurt."

"I love you so much, too," Kurt told him, giggling a little bit before he linked his arm through Blaine's and led him into the house. "Now come on, you should probably give your parents a call before they get any more suspicious than they probably already are."

xxx

The Andersons certainly were eager to get their son away from the Hummels and into their own brand-spankin'-new luxury mansion. The second after Blaine had called and let them know that he'd returned from the weekend trip he'd taken with Kurt Hummel and his father, they'd immediately sent David out with the Cadillac to go pick him up and bring him home. By the time they returned and Blaine was all settled in, it was getting late, but that didn't stop Mr. and Mrs. Anderson from summoning the cook and requesting that she make them dinner.

Before he knew it, Blaine found himself sitting with his parents at the large, imposing dinner table and staring at a full plate of food. He wasn't the least bit hungry, but he would eat it all as a gesture of appreciation toward the poor cook, who he knew had been just getting herself ready for bed.

He started eating, but it didn't take him very long to realize that his parents still hadn't so much as touched their silverware. His mother was staring disapprovingly at him, and he tried his best to ignore her scrutinizing gaze as he ate.

Finally she spoke up, and it was clear from her tone that she wasn't happy.

"What were you doing at the lake with that boy, Blaine?"

Blaine put down his fork, looked her in the eye, and gave her a completely honest answer. "I went to Lake Erie with Kurt and his father because they always go up there this time of year to visit relatives and they invited me to come along."

"That doesn't answer the question," William Anderson snapped at his son. "What were you doing there with him, Blaine?"

Again, he gave a completely truthful response in a flat monotone that conveyed little to no emotion whatsoever. "We spent some time with Kurt's cousins. They were all really cool. We played volleyball on the beach and built a campfire one night."

His parents shared a look. Blaine attempted to swallow the lump of nerves that had accumulated in his throat. When his mother spoke, it was clear that she was trying to sound gentle, but the usual disappointment with him was clear as day in her voice.

"Blaine, your father and I were extremely worried when we went by the house and nobody was there. We weren't sure what had happened…we had no way to get ahold of you, we didn't have a clue where anybody was."

"I'm sorry," Blaine told her – not because he meant it, but because he knew it was what she wanted to hear.

"This can't happen again, Blaine," she said sternly. "You can't just go running off to the lake with some boy that your father and I don't even know—"

"Excuse me, Mother, but I would hardly say I 'ran off' anywhere with Kurt. His father was there the whole time, not to mention several of his aunts and uncles," Blaine told her as politely as he could.

"I don't care if there were a hundred adults there. What we're concerned about is the fact that you were with a _boy_." Her disappointment and disapproval could not have been clearer if it were literally written on her face.

"Blaine, we don't mean to keep beating a dead horse here, but that incident that happened when you were younger…that can't happen again," his father informed him. "And the fact that you've been spending a disproportional amount of time with this boy over the last few weeks doesn't exactly make your mother and I feel any better."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blaine shot back, opting to play dumb. "Kurt's just a friend. His family invited me to spend time with them, and I accepted. I don't know why this has to be such a big deal."

"It wouldn't be a big deal, but after you chose to make that pretty-boy comment back when you were younger, we're not taking any chances." William Anderson folded his arms sternly across his chest. "Your mother and I don't want you spending any more time than necessary with that boy."

"Think about it, Blaine," his mother chimed in. "I think you can see why we're concerned. You have girls literally throwing themselves at you all the time, and you don't seem to have the slightest interest in any of them. I understand that you were busy when you were on tour and didn't have time to go steady with anyone, but even now that you're in school, you still don't seem interested in spending time with any girls. If you only spent as much time with some respectable young ladies as you do with this Kirk…"

"Kurt." Blaine spoke through clenched teeth, making no effort to hide his annoyance any longer.

Mrs. Anderson rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "It doesn't matter what his name is. What matters is that you're spending far too much time with him and that makes your father and I terribly uncomfortable. Now, we're all for you getting a good education, which is why we've started to look at a few other schools—"

This was the last thing Blaine had expected to hear. He was surprised that his jaw didn't hit the table as his mouth fell open. "I'm sorry, Mother, but _what_?!"

She continued speaking as if she hadn't even heard him. "…and we found a very nice, very prestigious all boys prep school down in Westerville, near Columbus. It's called Dalton Academy and it's known as one of the most—"

"Yes, that makes perfect sense," Blaine muttered sarcastically under his breath as she was still talking. "You're worried about me spending too much time with one boy, so you're going to put me in a whole school full of boys."

"I was about to say," she continued slowly, "that it's known as one of the most well-organized and social schools in the country. They host social events all the time with their sister school, which is an all-girls academy. You would have more than enough opportunities to meet a nice girl through something like that."

"I don't want to change schools," Blaine told her. "I'm fine where I am. I don't think it would be a good idea to switch so suddenly when I've barely started at McKinley."

It seemed that defying his parents as politely as possible was his natural instinct now, but deep down, Blaine actually wasn't completely opposed to the idea of switching schools. Kurt was really the only thing keeping him at McKinley, and the only reason he'd chosen that school in the first place. Maybe an all-boys school would be a better fit for him in the long run – the guys there wouldn't suspect him for trying to get with their girlfriends, because there would be no girls around.

But even if he did change schools eventually, he didn't think it would be a good idea to do it quite so soon. Leaving McKinley now would be giving Finn and the rest of the guys exactly what they wanted. Blaine was still more than willing to try and befriend them if they were up to the challenge, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

"I don't know," he continued after a long silence. "I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. Can I at least have a little time to think about it?"

His father's response was the last thing Blaine expected to hear.

"Sure, sure, that's fine. Just think about it," he said. "Do that for us, at least."

Blaine nodded and picked up his fork again. He wasn't sure why, but he was suddenly starving. "Okay."

His parents made no effort to continue any form of conversation after that. They didn't ask how his weekend at the lake had been, and they didn't even ask how he liked school so far now that they were on the topic of his education. The rest of the meal was spent in cold, affluent silence.


	19. Chapter 19

19

Over the course of the next week, two awful things happened.

The first became apparent to Kurt as he drove Blaine home that Tuesday afternoon, their first day back at school after the long weekend. Blaine had been abnormally quiet all day long, which was unlike him. At first Kurt thought that his silence might be a result of the guys' verbal abuse finally taking its toll, but something told him that there was something more.

"Is everything all right?" he asked Blaine gently as he drove out of the parking lot. "You seem…not yourself today."

"My parents want me to switch schools," Blaine said out of nowhere.

A heavy, unexpected silence hung in the air the second the words were out of his mouth. Kurt wasn't exactly sure what to say or how to react – this was the last thing he'd expected to hear Blaine say.

"I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry," Blaine said softly. "I just couldn't think of how to break it to you."

"No, no, you don't have to be sorry." Kurt tried his best to look as reassuring as possible as he rolled to a stop at a red light. "But…why?"

"They think I'm spending too much time with you," Blaine murmured, staring at his hands in his lap. Kurt was looking at him, but he couldn't bring himself to meet the other boy's beautiful gaze. "And…as much as I _hate _this, as much as it kills me to say it…I don't think it would be a bad idea if I started going to another school. My parents are already suspicious of us, and I don't even want to think about what would happen to us if they were to find out. The more time we spend together, the more suspicious they get."

The light turned green, but Kurt was too numb to notice. He probably could have sat there all day if the car behind him hadn't blared its horn, alerting him that he needed to go.

"You have a point," he admitted absently as he drove forward. "Do you know where you would go?"

"Dalton Academy. It's an all-boys school down in Westerville," Blaine told him. His voice softened as he acknowledged what neither of them wanted to say. "Which is kind of far away. I'm not…sure how often we'd get to see each other."

He looked at Kurt, whose eyes were fixed on the road ahead as he drove. It was difficult for him to read Kurt's expression, and that didn't exactly help soothe the unbearable anxiety he was already feeling. It was silent in the car for a long time, and when Kurt finally opened his mouth to say something, he immediately closed it again and shook his head as if to say _never mind_.

"What?" Blaine asked softly.

Kurt shook his head again. "I was going to say that I could transfer there with you, because there's no way your parents would ever know that I was there, but I would never be able to afford it."

His voice broke a little bit near the end of his sentence, and for some reason Blaine felt his heart weakening. He hated everything about this. It wasn't fair that this had to happen – that his parents had to pull him away from the boy he loved, and there was nothing he could say or do to stop them lest he reveal the secret he and Kurt shared.

"Stop the car," Blaine commanded him gently after another relatively long silence.

Kurt immediately pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car. He let his forehead fall against the steering wheel as tears of frustration poured down his face. After a moment he could feel Blaine's hand gently rubbing up and down his back, trying to soothe him. He relaxed a little bit under the touch but he still couldn't stop the tears from coming.

After a long time, he pulled himself together and sat up straight to look at Blaine.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, sniffing back another sob as he reached up to smear the tears off of his face. "It's just…it's not fair."

"I know, love. I know," Blaine agreed despondently. His hand had never left Kurt's back, and he moved it up to rest comfortingly on his shoulder. "I'll find a way to make it work somehow, okay? As long as your dad's still okay with it, maybe I can find a way to come over to your place after school a couple of times a week or on the weekends. I'll come up with some excuse to tell my parents why I'm gone."

Kurt nodded. "That's a good idea."

"We're gonna be together, okay?" Blaine reassured him as he pulled Kurt all the way into his arms. He gently tilted the other boy's chin up so that he could look into those startlingly gorgeous glasz eyes, which were still shiny with tears. "I promise you I'll find one way or another to be with you. I'm not giving you up that easily."

That simple yet profound statement brought another wave of tears to Kurt's eyes, though this round was different – this time, he was crying tears of joy. It was one of those moments where it really hit him that he was the luckiest person alive to have someone like Blaine.

He buried his face into the crook between Blaine's neck and his shoulder and felt himself being clutched even closer.

"I love you," he whispered against the warmth of the other boy's skin.

"I love you _so much_, Kurt," Blaine said softly back. "And no matter where I go, I always will."

They stayed parked on the side of the road for a long time, holding each other and crying quietly, until both of them were sure that they didn't have any more tears left to cry. After a while, they reluctantly broke apart, knowing that if Kurt didn't get Blaine home soon, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson would probably get even more suspicious of their relationship than they probably already were. Both of them glanced around outside to make sure nobody was coming before moving in closer and letting their lips meet in a brief kiss.

As Kurt maneuvered the car back onto the main road, Blaine looked at his face and tried not to cry all over again. He literally loved this boy more than life itself, and he wished more than anything that the two of them could share their love with the whole world. All he knew was that he would do absolutely everything in his power to ensure that their love stayed strong.

xxx

The second awful thing happened when Kurt returned to his own home after dropping Blaine off at the Anderson family's stately mansion. It was already relatively late in the afternoon, and he headed up to his bedroom only to walk past the bathroom and glance inside to see his father standing in front of the mirror, carefully adjusting the knot on his tie.

Kurt stopped for a moment, about to ask his father what was going on, but Burt Hummel beat his son to the punch. His voice sounded cheerful as he greeted him with a casual, "Hey, kiddo, how was school?"

"It was okay," Kurt told him. "What's with the fancy threads?" He gestured to his father's unusual suit-and-tie getup.

"I've got a date tonight," Burt told him. "I'm taking Carole Hudson out to dinner."

Kurt stayed frozen for a moment, trying to figure out why the name sounded so familiar. When the realization suddenly struck him, a chill raced up his spine as he considered the implications of this.

"Carole Hudson," he repeated slowly. "You mean…Finn Hudson's mother?"

"Sure thing," Burt told him. "I ran into her at the post office this morning. We somehow started talking, one thing led to another and two hours later, I was asking her out. Her husband was killed in Europe during the war when Finn was just a baby, and she's never remarried."

"Wow," Kurt said, because he felt as if he should acknowledge this somehow even though he wasn't entirely sure what to say. Deep inside, he was torn apart. As happy as he was for his father, he couldn't help but wish that this new relationship wasn't going to get too serious. Yes, he hated himself for even having those thoughts, but there was no telling what could happen if the two got serious. He didn't need to be any closer to Finn Hudson than he already was, thank you very much.

Burt turned away from the mirror and really looked at Kurt for the first time since he'd come up the stairs. "You okay, son? You look kinda low."

Kurt shook his head. "It's nothing. Just that…Blaine's parents want to send him to some fancy private school down in Westerville so I won't get to see him as much."

"Oh, man, ain't that a bite?" Burt stepped out of the bathroom and pulled his distraught son into a hug. "Sorry to hear that, kid. You know he's still always welcome over here whenever he can make it."

Kurt nodded into his father's shoulder. "I know. I told him that. It just really bugs me how there's nothing he can do about it unless he tells his parents about us, and both of us know _that's _not going to happen."

He broke away and shook his head. "Sorry. I know you probably need to get going. I won't hold you up any longer."

"I appreciate that, but you know you can always come talk to me if something like this is upsetting you, if you just want to let it all out," Burt told him. "I know you don't really have a whole ton of options as to who you can talk about this with, so I just want to make sure you know I'll always be here."

"I know," Kurt told him, nodding a little bit and smiling for the first time since he'd kissed Blaine in the car. "Thanks, Dad. Have a great time with Mrs. Hudson."

"Will do," Burt told him. "I'll try to be back before ten."

Kurt wandered to his room and collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the emotional turn his day had suddenly taken within the last hour or so. Once he was sure that his father was gone, he reached over and turned on his record player.

He'd never really been one to take naps in the middle of the day, but suddenly he didn't think he would be able to keep his eyes open any longer. He let his eyes fall shut as Blaine's prerecorded voice sang him to sleep.

xxx

By the end of the week, it was settled. Blaine would be starting classes at Dalton Academy the following Monday.

He made plans to spend time with Kurt on Saturday night, telling his parents that _all _of his friends were going out together and that Kurt's house was merely the designated meeting spot before the whole gang hit the town together. His parents seemed to buy it – or so he thought as he innocently headed up to his own bedroom to finish getting ready. What he _didn't _see – or hear – was his mother summoning David, the driver, as soon as he was out of earshot.

"There's something going on with him and that Kurt boy," Lisa Anderson told David, "and I don't like it. I want you to follow their little group around tonight and see what's going on."

David's eyes widened. He wasn't sure he could do this – spy on Blaine? Blaine had been nothing but polite and gracious to him in the years that David had been working for the family. The two had become good friends and each considered the other to be almost like his brother. He couldn't quite stomach the idea of spying on Blaine.

Lisa must have noticed the sudden distraught look that overcame him, because she immediately rolled her eyes and reached for her purse. "Oh, fine, how much will it take? Will two hundred be enough?"

She began pulling bills out of her wallet and pressing them into his open palm, and David felt his eyes getting even wider as he stared at Ben Franklin's paper face appearing in his hand not once, but twice. _Two hundred dollars_. It was a lot of money to a guy like David, who was embarrassingly underpaid, and suddenly – as much as he suddenly hated himself – he realized he was nodding.

"I expect a full report on everything that happened between Blaine and that boy when you bring him home this evening," Lisa snapped. "Is that understood?"

David nodded again and spoke mechanically. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Lisa smiled, but the kindliness didn't reach her cold eyes. "Now I suppose you and Blaine should get going."

xxx

Blaine had barely set foot in the Hummel household and closed the door behind him when suddenly he felt something being wrapped around his neck. His immediate response, of course, was to panic – until he realized that the object around his neck was just a scarf, and that the hands holding onto either end of the fabric suddenly looked very familiar.

He felt a smile break across his face as Kurt gently tugged on the scarf to pull him closer and greeted him with a gentle kiss on his lips. For a moment, Blaine completely let go of every inhibition he had about someone discovering the two of them, and was more than happy to kiss Kurt back. All the nearby shades were drawn, the door was closed, and the only other person in this house besides the two of them not only knew about the love they shared, but accepted it completely. He felt secure in the knowledge that they were completely safe to do this.

"Well, hello there," Blaine chuckled once they finally broke away. It was the first thing either of them had said out loud.

"Hi," Kurt murmured sweetly. His face was already inching closer to Blaine's and his eyes were slowly drifting closed once again. "Come back here and kiss me. I wasn't done yet."

There was no way Blaine ever could have resisted that, so he obediently captured Kurt's lips again. Once their mouths were sealed together, he trembled when he felt Kurt smiling beneath his lips. He moved one hand up to the back of Kurt's head and curled the other around his waist, holding him close and wishing more than anything that he would never have to let go.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Kurt whispered against Blaine's lips, tugging on the scarf again to bring him closer. "We can go anywhere or do anything you want. It's all up to you."

"Oh, god, anything. Anything at all," Blaine sighed breathlessly. "I just want to be with you. That's all that matters."

"That's about the only criteria I have for tonight, too," Kurt giggled.

He broke away, pursing his kiss-swollen lips as he thought for a moment, then his face brightened with an idea.

"I know exactly where I want to take you."

xxx

David had parked the car a safe distance away from Kurt Hummel's house – a little ways down the street, but still close enough to see if anyone left. He couldn't lie, he was starting to get suspicious. Blaine had said that several of their friends were all meeting up at Kurt's before heading out together, but so far it appeared that Blaine was the only one there. Maybe Lisa Anderson was right after all – maybe Blaine and this Kurt fellow had some kind of secret.

David had seen the public service announcements on television – everyone had – that condemned men's attraction to other men as an immoral crime and a sickness of the mind. He hadn't really thought enough about the matter to develop his own opinion on whether or not it was right or wrong, but one thing was for certain: Blaine didn't seem sick, and he couldn't be some kind of perverted criminal. Besides, David reasoned, if Blaine _had _somehow developed these so-called homosexual feelings, he was only acting upon said feelings with one boy – Kurt Hummel. He wasn't out sneaking around and hooking up with multiple unsuspecting boys, contrary to what the commercials suggested that homosexuals do.

There was a lot that didn't make sense, but David didn't have much time to think about it because suddenly he noticed the front door of Kurt's house opening and two figures stepped outside and getting into a car that was parked in the driveway.

The mission was officially on.

xxx

Blaine squinted in confusion as Kurt finally pulled the car to a stop at their destination.

"Haven't we been here before? I could have sworn…"

"Shhhh." Kurt silenced him with a press of his index finger to Blaine's lips. "This place is special to me in regards to us. This is where we kind of took those first steps toward making love."

He crawled into the backseat of the car and grinned as he pulled an all-too-willing Blaine back with him. Blaine had barely gotten himself situated when Kurt crawled on top of him, straddling his lap, and began to press soft kisses to his lips.

The place in question was the lookout over the city – the most popular hookup spot in town among couples their age – where they'd gotten intimate on that magical summer night that now seemed like years ago. In reality, it had only been a few months, but Blaine couldn't believe how quickly the time had gone. So much had changed in those few short months.

But time didn't matter now. All that mattered was that Blaine was here with the boy he loved. He smiled as he lay back so he was reclining across the backseat, pulling Kurt with him so they wouldn't have to break the kiss.

xxx

David knew he should have turned around at the lookout point and driven far, far away. He knew that Kurt and Blaine's coming here could only mean one thing – they were here to do what all couples in a twenty-mile radius came here to do.

Still, he strategically maneuvered the car very carefully, trying his best to stay as far away from Kurt Hummel's car as possible while still being able to see just a little bit. The more time he spent there, the more he hated himself for essentially betraying Blaine. He felt like complete scum for accepting the bribe money, but for some reason he couldn't make himself leave.

He felt a pit forming in his stomach as he watched one of the boys – he thought it might be Kurt; it didn't look too much like Blaine from David's vantage point – crawl on top of the other and kiss him. Personal convictions toward homosexuality aside, what troubled him the most was the fact that William and Lisa Anderson had been completely right about their son. David was the one who would have to break the news to them – and who knew what they would do to Blaine once they found out?

He wasn't too worried about anyone else in any of the other cars discovering the two of them. First of all, the rest of the cars at the lookout were occupied by other teenage couples who seemed to have the same idea as Kurt and Blaine – none of them would have cared enough to give anyone in the other cars so much as a curious glance. Secondly, from the way the two were positioned, it would have been difficult for anyone else to tell from a quick glance into the car that both of them were male. The only reason why David could tell that it was two boys was because he already knew. He was less worried about the possibility of the two of them getting caught here and now than he was about what he would tell Lisa Anderson when he brought Blaine home that night.

Still kissing, the boys in the car suddenly disappeared out of his view – David assumed they were now lying across the backseat of the car on top of each other, and he took that as his cue to leave. Whether or not he agreed with what Blaine was doing, he thought he should give the two of them privacy (well, as much privacy as was possible given the fact that they were making out in a semi-public area) and besides, he'd already seen enough to discern that Blaine absolutely did have a physical relationship with this Kurt boy.

He checked his watch – there was still about an hour left until midnight, which is when he told Blaine he'd be back to pick him up, and he subsequently had no idea how he was going to kill the rest of the time until then. He certainly couldn't drive back to the Andersons', because Lisa would take his coming home early to mean that he hadn't done his job. But suddenly none of that mattered. Without even thinking, he drove away from the lookout with the unmistakable feeling that he was betraying one of the few true friends he'd ever had.

xxx

Things were hot and heavy in the backseat of the Crestliner just a few feet away. Kurt, oblivious to the fact that they'd been being watched just a few seconds earlier, eagerly began unbuttoning Blaine's plaid shirt, kissing his way down the center of the other boy's chest as he went. Blaine writhed with need above him, and Kurt found himself smiling as he hastily undid the button and zipper of his jeans. The fact that he could make a gorgeous boy like Blaine feel so good brought with it an immense rush of self pride.

Blaine was already nice and hard for him, Kurt noticed happily as he slid his pants and underwear out of the way. Not that this was necessarily a surprise, because he'd been able to feel Blaine's arousal growing as they'd made out, but actually _seeing _the physical pleasure he'd given was something else entirely. He closed his mouth around his boyfriend's cock and began to suck. At this point in their relationship, he knew exactly what drove Blaine wild, so Kurt made sure to pleasure him in all the ways he knew he loved until Blaine came down his throat. As Blaine climaxed, he let Kurt's name escape from his mouth as a deep, low moan that Kurt knew was his best effort at containing the wild scream of pleasure he truly wanted to emit.

In a way, Kurt thought as he eagerly swallowed everything Blaine gave him, he didn't really mind that they had to conceal their true emotion lest someone in one of the other cars overhear them. The fact that they had to be so quiet just made the whole moment seem that much more intimate. What happened in this car stayed in this car, solely between the two of them.

"Good?" Kurt whispered with a hopeful smile. He began kissing his way back up Blaine's chest, more slowly this time, savoring every inch of skin his lips touched. In moments like this, Blaine didn't think it was physically possible for him to feel any more loved than he already did. If Kurt's body hadn't been draped on top of his own, holding him down to earth, Blaine thought he might just float away from pure bliss.

"Better than that," Blaine murmured as Kurt's face neared his own. "That was…oh, god, Kurt. That was the most."

"Yeah?" Kurt bit his lip as he smiled and bashfully looked away, watching his fingers absentmindedly running up and down Blaine's chest. He rested his head in the crook of Blaine's neck and snuggled closer to him. "I just like to make you feel good."

"I'm pretty sure you would be able to make me feel good without even trying," Blaine told him, eliciting a quiet little giggle from Kurt. As gently as possible, he tilted Kurt's face up to his own and looked him in the eyes. "Now may I return the favor?"

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine had already flipped the two of them over and was unbuttoning Kurt's shirt, kissing and stroking his way down the other boy's body lovingly as he went. Part of Kurt wanted to say that he didn't expect Blaine to return the favor, that Kurt didn't mind doing these things to Blaine to make him feel good, but his libido was telling another story. Blaine's mouth felt unbelievable against his skin. If Blaine wanted to do this – and it seemed to Kurt like he did – then Kurt certainly wasn't going to stop him.

But suddenly his mind went blank. Blaine had closed his mouth around him, and it was impossible to think anymore.

xxx

They'd made it back to Kurt's house in the nick of time. Blaine had just enough time to step inside before he caught sight of the headlights of David's Cadillac heading down the street to pick him up.

"He's here," Blaine announced to Kurt, an apologetic smile on his face as he pulled the blinds back into place and stepped away from the window.

Kurt sighed and pulled him into an embrace. Blaine almost expected him to say something, but he didn't, and for some reason Kurt's silence as he held Blaine in his arms said more than words ever could. Words were unnecessary to communicate their feelings for one another, and Blaine closed his eyes as Kurt held him, wishing he could stay here in this embrace in this simple silence forever.

Also, there was the unspoken acknowledgment that now that Blaine was switching schools, it would be difficult for the two of them to spend as much time together, especially given William and Lisa Anderson's skepticism of their relationship. Neither of them was completely sure when they would get to spend an evening together like this again, and for some reason it seemed that holding each other in silence would prolong the magic of the night just a little bit longer.

After a few seconds of perfect bliss, Kurt ducked his head and captured Blaine's lips between his own for a gentle kiss. He couldn't stand the thought of having to let Blaine go, especially when neither of them knew when their next reunion would be. In a way, this was worse than the time they'd spent apart over the summer while Blaine had been on tour, because at least then they'd known that the physical distance between the two of them would automatically cause difficulty. This time around, they lived so close to each other, but circumstances beyond their control were still working against them.

"I love you," Kurt whispered as he reluctantly broke free from the kiss. He looked into Blaine's hazel eyes as he spoke, making sure there was no doubt in Blaine's mind that he was speaking the truth. "You're everything to me, Blaine."

His simple yet profound statement was almost too much for Blaine, who was suddenly so overwhelmed with love that he clutched himself even closer to Kurt.

"I love you, too," he whispered.

The tiniest smile touched Kurt's face. No matter how many times Blaine said those words to him, they never failed to take his breath away.

Just then, the sound of a car horn blared outside. David was getting impatient. Blaine slipped out of Kurt's arms, though not without giving him one last kiss.

They said their goodbyes and Blaine opened the door to leave, turning around and giving Kurt one last friendly-casual wave as he headed down the front porch for good measure, since he knew David was watching him.

He slid into the backseat of the Cadillac with a huge smile blooming across his face and instantaneously decided to make up a quick lie to reassure his driver that he'd had a great time with _all _his friends tonight.

"Oh, man, what a night," he commented breathlessly as David backed the car out of Kurt's driveway and out onto the main road. "We caught the late showing of that new Marilyn Monroe flick down at the drive-in. Got back just in time, otherwise I would have missed you." He laughed, hoping it didn't sound too fake.

David didn't say anything. If Blaine hadn't known better, he would have thought that he was concentrating on the road, but he'd known David for years and the two of them almost always made small talk in the car. For some reason, David's silence was unnerving.

He shifted in his seat and knelt on the floor of the car in between the front and back seats. "Hey, man, what's bugging you? You're never this quiet. What's buzzin'?"

"I know you weren't at the drive-in," David said stoically. Blaine wasn't sure why, but he thought he heard his voice break a little bit.

He was admittedly nervous all of a sudden, but he had to play it cool and not say or do anything that would arouse any more suspicion.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in response, laughing nervously. "C'mon, you can be straight with me. What's going on?"

David's tone was just as even as it had been before as he responded. "You were with Kurt. I saw you two. A-at the lookout."

Blaine felt sick to his stomach all of a sudden. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Suddenly his head was starting to spin and he found himself hoping and praying that he'd somehow misheard.

He sat back down and inconspicuously gripped the handle on the door. He wasn't sure why but suddenly he needed something – anything – to hold on to. He wasn't even sure what to say, but thankfully David spoke up again.

"Your ma bribed me to follow you. I know she's been gettin' suspicious of you and that Kurt, so she paid me to follow you around tonight and see what went on."

The nausea was still there, churning Blaine's stomach and showing no signs of going away anytime soon. For the second time that week, he heard himself say, "Stop the car."

David obediently pulled over onto the shoulder just in time. The second the vehicle had come to a stop, Blaine opened the door, leaned out, and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach on the side of the road.

He couldn't believe this. Not only did David know what was going on, but he was going to tell his parents, too. There was no telling what would happen to him – or, god forbid, to _Kurt _– now that they knew. Thinking about the possibility of his parents doing anything to Kurt made him even sicker to his stomach, and he vomited a second time as this thought came to mind.

David, meanwhile, felt slightly relieved that he'd told Blaine the truth rather than keeping it hidden. He felt that Blaine deserved to know what was going on. At the same time, he could clearly see that Blaine was obviously so upset that he'd actually gotten physically sick, so without wasting another second he threw open the driver's seat door and headed around to the back of the car, sliding into the seat beside Blaine.

When he was finished puking his guts out, Blaine pulled the door shut and leaned his head against the window, hoping the sensation of the cool glass against his skin would help to calm him down. Unfortunately, at this point, nothing could take away the physical and emotional sensations of dread that were enveloping his entire being. He realized for the first time that he was crying, and he turned his face away so that David couldn't see the tears.

David wasn't saying anything – now that he'd made his initial confession, he wasn't exactly sure _what _to say – but suddenly Blaine thought of something. He hastily pulled his wallet out of his pocket, hands and fingers trembling the whole time, which made the simple task much more difficult than it otherwise would have been.

"How much did she give you?" he demanded. His voice was slightly louder than his normal speaking tone, and it was choked with the tears that were still pouring out of his eyes, but David didn't think he was angry. Very upset, obviously, but not necessarily angry.

David held up two fingers without saying a word, and Blaine understood.

"Two hundred?" He began furiously tearing through his wallet, almost tearing a few hundred-dollar bills as he whipped them out of the pocket. "I'll double that. I'll give you _four _hundred. No – forget that. I'll give you a thousand."

He swiftly counted out ten hundred-dollar bills, forced David's hand open, and pressed the money into his palm. He looked into David's eyes, and when David looked back at him he found that he couldn't exactly describe the expression on Blaine's face. His forehead was shiny with sweat and his cheeks displayed prominent tracks of tears, but the look in his eyes was the wildest kind of fear Blaine had ever seen. It almost seemed as if this were a life-or-death situation – and who knew? Maybe for Blaine, it was.

"One th-_thousand _dollars to tell her that I was actually out w-with my f-_friends _after all." Blaine was speaking through his teeth, trembling more and more with every word. "I am _so _fucking serious right now, David. I don't know what you think about this kinda stuff…like what's going on between me and Kurt…but _nobody _else can know about this. Do you understand me? _Nobody_. If people find out about us and something happens to Kurt…"

He ran his hand through his hair, thinking for a moment, before realizing that there was no way he could verbalize the worst-case scenario by putting it into words. He leaned forward with his arms against his knees and let his head fall into his hands, his body suddenly wracked with violent sobs yet again.

David, meanwhile, had been completely frozen, not moving since Blaine had essentially forced his hand open to take the money that he still held. Very carefully, so as not to lose any of the bills, he neatly folded the stack up and slipped it back into Blaine's wallet, which was still resting on the seat.

"I don't want your money, Blaine," he said quietly but firmly.

"No, please, take it. I don't think you understand," Blaine insisted, picking his head up to look at David straight on again. "I don't want anything to happen to him. I know you think guys like us are sick psychopaths who belong in prison, but…but it's not like that at all. Kurt is _everything _to me, David. He is _everything_."

David looked straight back at Blaine, right into those tear-soaked hazel eyes. He'd known Blaine for a number of years now, but he'd never seen this side of him before. Traffic whizzed by outside and one car blared its horn at another. David flinched a little bit, but the sudden noise didn't even seem to faze Blaine. Right now, there was one thing and one thing only that mattered to him. And suddenly it was all clear to David.

He nodded slowly as he responded. "I know. I can tell."

Blaine's expression changed just slightly, and David could tell that he wasn't quite sure what to say or how to react. "How?"

"Look at yourself right now, man," David told him, laughing a little bit to ease the tension. "With all due respect, Daddy-O, you are one hell of an ugly crier. I've never seen you like this before. And you wanna know somethin'?"

"What?"

"You been talking my ear off about what would happen to _Kurt _if the two of you got caught, but you haven't said one single word about being scared for yourself," David pointed out.

Blaine stopped to consider this for a moment.

"I just want him to be safe," he whispered after a few beats of silence.

"I dunno, Blaine," David continued. "I'm not too sure where I stand on this whole 'homosexuality' thing or whatever they call it on TV, but that there seems like love to me."

Blaine nodded as he spoke. "It is. God, David, I love him so much."

He was quiet for a moment before looking at his driver out of the corner of his eye and speaking again, his voice softer this time than before.

"Look, man, I'm not saying you have to agree with what he and I do. In fact, there's a lot of people who'd probably try to get us arrested us or put us in the nuthouse or anything like that if they knew what we had going on," he whispered. "But _please_, David. Please don't rat us out to my parents…or anyone, for that matter. Like I said, I'm not saying you've gotta agree with or accept what we do, but I just ask that you respect us enough to keep quiet about this, you dig?"

He was pleading by the time he finished speaking, and David could see the desperation in his eyes. He still wasn't quite sure what he personally thought about what Blaine and Kurt did – it was strange to him, no doubt about that, but there was no mistaking the undeniable love that he could see in Blaine's eyes whenever he so much as mentioned Kurt's name. There was no denying that what the two of them shared was real.

After a long silence, David finally nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, god, thank you." Blaine exhaled in obvious relief, but he wasn't done yet. "And for the record, I know those TV commercials say that this is a disease and that we're contagious or whatever, but it's not. I didn't 'catch' this from anyone and neither did Kurt. I've known from a really young age that I have the kind of feelings for boys that I'm supposed to have for girls. I tried to ignore it and push those feelings aside for a couple years, but when I met Kurt, it was just like…it was like I found everything I'd been looking for but never thought I'd find."

He sighed again and ran one hand nervously through his hair, pulling his curls free from the gel. "God, what am I doing? I don't expect you to understand all this. It's just…I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't control what I feel for him. I didn't 'choose' to be this way, but this is how I am. I love Kurt with everything that I have, and I'll always love him no matter what people say about us."

David pondered this for a second before he spoke. "Y'know, I've gotta admit it's still a little strange to me because I've never seen this kind of relationship before, but it's pretty clear to me that you really _do _love him. I don't want to say or do anything that would get either of you in trouble. The way I see it, what you two do together is none of my business. It doesn't affect me, so I'm not going to talk about it to anyone else. Your secret's safe with me."

For the first time since getting in the car, Blaine's face brightened into a smile. "Really?"

"Really," David confirmed. "I know this isn't the same, but I know what it's like to have people judge you negatively because of something you can't control. Hell, I can't even stay in the same hotel as you when you do shows down south. I've had people say horrible things to me and even try to hurt me, and I wouldn't wish that kind of abuse on anyone."

Blaine laughed humorlessly. "And that's the same kind of things that people would do to Kurt and me if anyone were to find out about us."

"Exactly," David told him. "You can't control how you feel for that boy any more than I can control the color of my skin. People can hate us all they want for these things, but in the end we both know that this is the way we are and there's nothing we can do to change it."

Blaine broke into an even wider smile before leaning over to give his driver a friendly hug. "I swear to god, David, sometimes it's like you really _are _my brother from another mother."

"Your brother from a black mother," David pointed out as he hugged Blaine back, and both of them laughed. Blaine could practically feel the tension melting away, and he was immediately grateful that he had a friend like David.

Within a few minutes, they were on the road again. When they returned to the Anderson family's mansion, David immediately apologized to Lisa for being a bit late, explaining smoothly that they'd gotten stuck in traffic. He waited until Blaine went upstairs to tell her that nothing out of the ordinary had happened that evening – that Blaine and his friends had all departed from Kurt's house to catch the new Marilyn Monroe movie down at the drive-in and had gone to the diner for milkshakes afterward. Lisa looked skeptical – and slightly taken aback that Blaine had apparently done something so _normal _– for a moment, but eventually she nodded to show that she accepted his answer.

Blaine slept better that night than he had in a long time. Although the night was supposed to have been another kind of goodbye for him and Kurt, he was filled with renewed hope. Now that David knew their secret, maybe Blaine could somehow convince him to drive him over to Kurt's house every once in a while so that they could see each other. They would be able to be together, and their secret was still safe.

For now.


	20. Chapter 20

Possible trigger warning for strong language. There's not a whole lot, but I thought I'd give a warning just in case.

* * *

20

Despite the fact that Blaine wasn't going to be there, Kurt went to school that same morning feeling better than he had in a long time. It had taken him a while – and Blaine had certainly helped – but he'd made the firm and final decision that from here on out, he was going to be his true self. He'd gone out the previous evening and bought some nice designer clothes that had caught his eye a while ago, and it was one of these new outfits that he was going to debut at school. The hideous leather jacket had been banished to the back of his closet.

He bit back a smile as he drove to school, unable to believe how much better about himself he already felt. He only wished Blaine could be here to see how incredible he looked, but he figured he could wait a couple more hours until they saw each other that afternoon.

The rest of the guys, on the other hand, didn't appear happy to see him at all when they first caught sight of him strutting up to their usual meeting spot outside the school.

Kurt pretended not to notice the confused expressions on his friends' faces as he breezed up to the group. "Hello, boys."

"You're wearing a bowtie," Sam pointed out flatly without so much as a greeting.

Kurt reached up toward his collar to fluff up the corners of said bowtie. "Yes, I'm aware."

"Hummel, man, what _happened _to you?" Puck asked incredulously. "You look like you just stepped out of that loser Anderson's closet."

"For your information, Blaine had nothing to do with this," Kurt lied smoothly – in reality, Blaine had given him just the push he needed to do this: to dress the way _he _wanted to dress. "And besides, he's not even going to school here anymore. He transferred to Dalton Academy."

"_What_?!" the other four guys all barked in unison.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Why act so surprised? It's no secret you guys didn't want him here."

"Yeah, but he was our secret weapon for winning sectionals," Finn pointed out. "Now the _Warblers _have him." He scoffed.

Kurt smiled. "Then we'll just have to try that much harder to beat them."

Mike leaned his head back against the cool brick wall of the school building and closed his eyes. "Oh, man, this is making my head hurt. I need a smoke."

Without skipping a beat, Kurt pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pressed it into Mike's hand. "Take as many as you want. Actually, just keep the pack. I don't want it anymore."

"What, so now you're too good to smoke, too?" Finn snapped. "Let me guess. _Blaine _doesn't smoke, so it's bad."

This earned him a round of laughter and slaps on the back from the rest of the guys, save for Kurt, who stood there watching them with a steely glare. "Who said anything about Blaine?"

But his so-called friends paid him no mind, carrying on as if they hadn't even heard a word he'd said.

"Ohhh, _Kurt_, you should stop smoking! Cigarettes are _grooooosssss_," Puck shrieked in a bad impression of Blaine's voice.

"Yeah, Kurt, stop that so I can be your gross homo boyfriend and kiss you! You're the only one that likes me here!" Mike chimed in, his Blaine impersonation no better than Puck's had been.

"C'mere." Finn forcefully yanked on Kurt's arm and pulled him closer before crushing him in what was probably supposed to be some kind of strange hug. Kurt kept his own arms pinned to his sides. "Look, I'm _Blaine_. Kurt is my favorite person _ever _because he's my only real friend." He shook Kurt around a little bit as if he were some kind of spineless doll. "I can kiss his ass and _still _try to steal all the girls away from their boyfriends because I'm a _superstar_. C'mon, _Kurt_, make out with me."

He inched his face dangerously close to Kurt's; Kurt instinctively fought back and struggled to break away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Finn sneered, pulling Kurt closer to him again. "I know you'd do it. I know you'd kiss me. Anderson had some kind of sick obsession with you and now you've got his disease. He passed it right along to you, because everyone knows that shit's contagious. And now you're a sick little homo freak. Just. Like. Him."

Kurt looked straight into his eyes and kept his voice and expression cold. "This is just like you, Finn Hudson. Shutting down anything that's different. Now you're making up ridiculous lies about me and Blaine just because I've decided that I don't want to wear that stupid leather jacket and smoke anymore."

It wasn't Finn who spoke next, but Mike, who had always been the most rational member of the group. "We just don't get why you decided to change, that's all."

"I didn't change," Kurt told them, solemn pride evident in his low voice. "I just decided that I was finally going to be myself."

He was looking right at Finn as he finished speaking, and as the words left his mouth he noticed that the taller boy's eyes got somewhat darker. It didn't take Kurt long at all to realize that there was something in his friend's gaze that he'd never seen before: pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Well, if 'being yourself' means dressing like a homo pussy, then you can't hang out with us anymore." To emphasize his point, Finn braced his hands against Kurt's chest and forcefully shoved him away as he spoke. "Goodbye, _Kurt_."

Kurt didn't miss the way Finn had essentially spat his name as if it were an expletive. He stood there for a second longer, staring at the people he had considered to be his friends as recently as this morning, then lifted his chin just slightly as he turned on his heel and strutted away. He could feel tears pooling up in his eyes, but he wouldn't dare let them fall.

_Don't you dare cry, Kurt Hummel. Don't you dare cry_.

He repeated this same mantra over and over in his head as he walked to class. Despite his best efforts, he felt a tear slip down his cheek and he ducked his head as he made his way through the halls, trying his best to make himself invisible.

_Don't you dare cry_…

xxx

Blaine's first day at Dalton Academy couldn't have been more different from what he'd experienced during his brief time at McKinley. The guys there were not only nicer to him, but they genuinely accepted him and actually made him feel like he was a part of things. When the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, he already felt like he'd made more potential friends in the seven hours he'd been at Dalton than in the month he'd been at McKinley. Part of him wondered if their acceptance had anything to do with the fact that there were no girls around to fawn over him and make him feel like he was a threat to the rest of the boys, but after a second of thinking about that, he decided he didn't care. He was just happy to have more than one actual friend at school.

He stuck around after school, having decided earlier in the day that he would check out his new school's a capella singing group and see what all the fuss was about. During his last few rehearsals with the New Directions, everyone had been talking nonstop about their upcoming sectionals competition and how the Dalton Academy Warblers were the team they had to watch out for. Blaine was honestly excited about the possibility of joining a new group – sure, competing against his old team, including Kurt, at sectionals would be weird, but it was all in the name of music.

(Plus, he had to admit, he couldn't wait to see the look on Finn Hudson's stupid face when the Warblers won. Not that he would ever tell anyone that, of course.)

Blaine had been planning on entering the rehearsal room as quietly as possible and taking a seat somewhere near the back so as not to draw attention to himself. However, he realized upon opening the heavy wooden door that that was not going to be the case. He had barely set foot into the room when suddenly the whole rest of the team was descending upon him, wanting to clap him on the back and shake his hand and welcome him to the group with nothing but the most genuine hospitality. He soon found that he had a genuine smile on his face as he greeted all his new friends, and he was admittedly floored by how receptive everyone here had been so far. There were no girls flocking around him at every corner, and none of the boys perceived him as a threat. This is what being a normal kid is supposed to feel like.

Before long, rehearsal started – well, this time, they didn't actually rehearse much. The Warblers welcomed Blaine to the group with a song and then he treated them to a solo performance – everyone had to audition, they told him, but in this case it was more of a formality because they already knew that they wanted him to join. After that, they mostly just tossed around a couple song ideas for sectionals, and Blaine even felt comfortable enough to offer a few suggestions of his own. He couldn't help but think that if he were having the same conversation with the New Directions, nobody would care for his ideas except for Kurt.

_Kurt_. Blaine was going to see him later that afternoon, after rehearsal. He'd managed to convince David to drive him over to Kurt's house so they could at least spend a little bit of time together. Suddenly he couldn't focus on what anyone in the group was saying, because his heart and mind were miles away.

xxx

Kurt was just about at his breaking point when he returned home at the end of the day, and the sight that greeted him in the kitchen was enough to jumble the whirlwind of emotions in his head even more.

"Hey there, kid, how was school?" Burt Hummel's tone was completely nonchalant even as he bustled around the kitchen pulling various ingredients out of the cabinets and measuring them out. As soon as he finished speaking, the oven beeped loudly to indicate that it was finished preheating, and he immediately took a large baking dish off the counter and put it inside.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kurt said flatly. "Why are you cooking?" His father's skills in the kitchen left much to be desired, and their meals at home were usually as basic and simple to prepare as possible.

"Didn't I tell you?" The smile that brightened his father's face made it clear to Kurt that this was the happiest Burt had been in a long time. "Carole's coming over for dinner tonight. She's bringing Finn."

Kurt forgot how to breathe for a second. "Is this a joke?"

"Why would it be?" Burt asked in response as Kurt took a seat at the kitchen table, desperate to get his head to stop spinning. "I know you and Finn already know each other, but Carole and I thought it would be a good way to kind of get both families together now that things are getting serious between the two of us. I brushed the dust off your mom's old cookbook and I'm pulling out all the stops with dinner tonight…I've got a roast in the oven and I'm even gonna try my hand at making her famous mashed potatoes, so hopefully I can do her justice."

The smile immediately faded from Burt's face as soon as he finished talking. Kurt knew that his father could tell something was bothering him, but he had no idea how he was going to tell Burt the truth about everything that had happened between himself and Finn that morning. His dad was so happy and excited about this big dinner, and Kurt couldn't bring himself to break his heart.

"Hey, kiddo, you don't look too good," Burt observed after a silent moment. "What's bugging you?"

Kurt shook his head, not meeting his father's eyes as he responded with a rough approximation of the truth.

"Nothing. It just would have been nice to know about this sooner, that's all. I already told Blaine he could come over tonight," he mumbled.

Thankfully, Burt immediately saw the problem with this. "Oh, man. Look, as much as I hate to say this, I just don't think that would be a good idea with the Hudsons coming over."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"Blaine's a great kid and I want you two to have as much time together as possible, but I can't cancel this dinner at the last minute. That might look a little suspicious," Burt told him honestly. "If it were any other day, I would be more than happy to have him come over. Is there any way you can get ahold of him and tell him not to come?"

Kurt shook his head. "His driver was going to bring him over as soon as Warblers practice after school was over. He won't be home at any point. It's not like I can call him or anything."

Burt sighed and took a seat at the table beside Kurt. He looked intently at his son, despite the fact that Kurt still refused to look him in the eye.

"I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out for when his car gets here, and you can run out and tell him that your date for tonight is off," he admitted. "Look, Kurt, I hope you understand that this is for your safety and his. I don't think it's a good idea for him to be here when he have other people over, do you get what I'm saying?"

"Especially not Finn Hudson," Kurt muttered under his breath.

"What?" Burt asked.

"Nothing. Nothing." Kurt leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I just hate that we have to go through so much trouble to hide this. If he and I want to be together, that _literally _does not affect anyone else at _all_. It's so ridiculous how we have to make it such a big secret to avoid getting hurt."

Nothing broke Burt's heart more than hearing his son talk like this. He wished more than anything that he could give society a piece of his mind, tell everyone that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Kurt and Blaine and the way they loved each other…but he couldn't, and that killed him. He wasn't even sure what to say for the longest time, but thankfully Kurt broke the silence so that Burt wouldn't have to.

"Thanks, Dad." For the first time since coming home from school, he was smiling. "I know you're just trying to keep us safe, and I appreciate that. I know I've said it before, but it really means a lot to know that you're on our side."

"And I always will be," Burt reassured him. "All right, I'd tell you to go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up and ready for dinner, but you already look pretty spiffy. What's with the new threads?"

Kurt was unbelievably happy that _someone _had appreciated his new look. Burt had already been at the shop that morning when Kurt left for school, so this was the first time all day that his father had seen him.

"Oh, I just felt like switching things up, most likely permanently," Kurt told him happily as he stood up from the table. "I like clothes like this. I'd rather dress nice than wear a jacket, jeans and a t-shirt every single day."

Burt nodded in approval. "I think it suits you. You look good, kid."

Kurt's smile widened. "Thanks, Dad."

As he headed up the stairs to his room, he soon found that this was the happiest he'd been all day.

xxx

Blaine felt like he was about to burst out of his skin with pure excitement that afternoon as David drove him to Kurt's house. Now that his driver was in on his secret, he was unashamed to babble excitedly about Kurt for the entire duration of the drive there. If David was bothered by it, he certainly didn't let it show on his face. He'd even gone to the florist and, using money Blaine had given him that morning, purchased a luscious bouquet of dark red roses for Blaine to give to Kurt.

Blaine held said bouquet behind his back as he got out of the car once they'd reached the Hummels' house. He couldn't wait to see the look on Kurt's face when he presented him with the flowers, but for now, his heart felt as if it were about to pound straight through his chest. His palms were sweaty and his knees were weak, but he found himself enjoying every single bit of adrenaline that shot through his body. There was nothing like that moment of anticipation right before he saw the love of his life. He wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.

His face lit up when the front door opened and Kurt came bursting outside, but his expression immediately fell when he caught sight of how anxious Kurt looked. Right away Blaine knew that something was terribly wrong.

"You can't stay," were the first words that tumbled out of Kurt's mouth before Blaine could even muster a greeting.

Blaine squinted at him in confusion. "What? I don't understand. Kurt, what's going on?"

"My dad's kind of going steady with Finn's mom and now she and Finn are coming over for dinner and they're supposed to be here in half an hour and I'm really, really sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I just found out when I got home from school." Kurt sighed immediately after saying this all in one breath. "So…you can't stay. My dad said it's safer for both of us this way. And Finn completely harassed me at school today…he and the rest of the guys don't want anything to do with me anymore because I'm dressing like this and I told them I gave up smoking and now they're convinced that _you _had something to do with it and I think they might be onto us. I just…I don't even know what to do anymore."

For the first time all day, Kurt let himself cry. The sight of his boy standing right there in front of him with tears pouring down his face nearly killed Blaine, who knew there was nothing he could do to physically comfort him. Watching Kurt cry and not being able to pull him closer and kiss his tears away made Blaine feel as if someone had violently plunged their hand through his chest and ripped his heart straight out.

He did the best he could, and he took the flowers out from behind his back and presented them to Kurt.

"I, um…I know these aren't much, but I got them for you," he said shyly. "Kurt, you have no idea how much this is killing me to see you like this right now. There's nothing I want to do more than to take you inside and go up to your room and just hold you."

Kurt stared at the flowers through tear-soaked eyes for a second. A pang of tenderness touched his heart as he reached out to accept them, and for the first time since stepping outside, he smiled.

"Blaine, they're beautiful," he whispered, admiring the flowers for a second before something hit him. He glanced up and nodded toward the Cadillac stalling in the driveway; Blaine was immediately grateful that David hadn't just driven away the second he'd gotten out of the car. "But…wasn't your driver suspicious when you asked him to bring you all the way over here _and _you had flowers for me?"

Blaine shook his head. "He's not. David knows about us."

An expression of shocked horror immediately overcame Kurt's face, so Blaine spoke quickly to reassure him. "It's a really, _really _long story, but he found out, and he knows. He's cool with it. I'll call you tonight and fill you in, you dig?"

Kurt nodded. "Okay." He cleared his throat and spoke up. "Sorry this happened. Believe me, there's nothing I'd love more right now than to be with you."

"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll make up for it another time." Blaine squeezed his shoulder and winked flirtatiously.

Kurt smiled at him for a moment longer before taking his hand and giving it an inconspicuous squeeze.

"I should get going. I told my dad I'd help him get everything set up," he said. "Um…see you later, I guess. Give me a bell tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine agreed, nodding. Kurt had already turned around and was about to start walking back up the driveway to his house, but Blaine called after him before he could get too far.

"Oh yeah, Kurt?"

Kurt immediately turned around and took a few steps closer to Blaine. "Yeah?"

Blaine smiled as he looked Kurt up and down, checking out his new clothes and drinking in the way they fit his incredible body perfectly.

"You look stunning," he said softly.

Kurt felt his face warming with a blush and he returned Blaine's lovestruck look with a soft smile of his own.

"Thanks," he whispered. "I'll talk to you later."

He headed back up to his house with a whole new mix of emotions crowding for space in his heart. In the front hallway, he paused for a moment and smelled the roses, instinctively smiling when their sweet aroma hit his senses and not knowing that his father was looking at him from the kitchen.

"Are those from Blaine?"

Kurt nodded happily. "How sweet is he?"

Burt smiled, happy merely to see that Kurt was so happy. "He's real good to you, son. Hold on to him."

"That's the plan," Kurt told him cheerfully. "I'm gonna go put these upstairs and I'll be right back down to help you with dinner."

He felt like he was walking on air as he headed up to his room. For the first time all day, he truly felt like everything was going to be okay.

xxx

The Hudsons showed up right on schedule. Kurt hung back as his father headed out to greet them at the door, trying to mentally prepare himself for just a few more seconds. He had no idea how this was going to go, especially after what had happened at school that morning, but he tried to remain calm and remind himself that Finn wouldn't dare try anything here, not with their parents around.

Carole Hudson, whom Kurt had never met before, seemed like the polar opposite of her son personality-wise. As Burt introduced her to his son, Kurt smiled politely and extended his hand, only to find himself being pulled into a hug rather than a handshake. Finn, on the other hand, greeted Kurt only with a glare. It was clear that he'd only come because his mother had made him.

They headed into the dining room to eat, and Kurt didn't miss the fact that Finn purposely sat as far away from him as possible. That didn't bother him at all. Throughout the meal, he engaged in polite conversation with his father and Carole, who asked him about what he wanted to study in college (to which he responded with something vague about working with cars, rather than the truth, which involved some combination of musical theater and fashion design). As soon as he finished telling her about how much he loved working at his dad's auto shop and hoped to do something similar for the rest of his life, he couldn't help but glance at Finn out of the corner of his eye to see how he'd reacted.

It was a bad decision. Finn was glaring at him with fiery hatred in his eyes. Kurt knew it was probably silly, but for whatever reason he found himself frightened for his life for the very first time.

It wouldn't be the last.

xxx

Blaine was strangely nervous that night as he twirled the rotary dial on his telephone around to all the digits of Kurt's home number. He wasn't sure why he had such a bad feeling, but as he waited for the call to connect he couldn't help but notice that his palms were clammy and a cold, nervous sweat was starting to spread all over his body. It was only when Kurt answered the phone that he found his tension beginning to let up just a little bit.

"Kurt, oh my god, I can't even tell you how happy I am to hear your voice," Blaine greeted him breathlessly. "I just have such a weird feeling for some reason. I don't know why, but I've kind of been on edge all night."

"Trust me, you're not the only one," Kurt admitted. "Okay, so what happened with David? How does he know about us? I think one of the things that's been making me nervous is the fact that someone else found out."

Blaine proceeded to explain to him what had happened over the weekend – how his mother had bribed David to follow the two of them and how David had subsequently seen them making out at the lookout. Kurt sounded understandably scared until Blaine reassured him that David had told him the truth and lied to Mrs. Anderson about what Blaine had done that night after promising to Blaine that he would keep their secret safe.

Kurt was silent for a long time. For a moment, Blaine thought the call had been dropped, but finally there was a soft voice from the other end of the line.

"Are you sure he won't tell anyone?"

Blaine nodded before realizing that Kurt wouldn't be able to see him through the phone. "I'm positive. I trust him. I'm still not exactly sure where he stands on this and what exactly he thinks of us for it, but at least he's going to keep it a secret, and that's the most important thing."

He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have gotten that off his chest. He knew that Kurt deserved to know if someone found out about their relationship, but Blaine hadn't been sure of the best way to break the news.

"Okay, now your turn. Can you _please _elaborate on what happened with Finn at school? I'd be lying if I said you didn't scare me when you gave me the extremely rushed version in your driveway today."

Kurt drew in a shaky breath and began to tell him everything that had happened. By the time he got to the part about Finn grabbing him by the shoulders, pulling him close, and daring Kurt to kiss him, he was practically in tears. His voice was so soft that Blaine had to strain to hear him as he confessed that Finn and the rest of the guys were all but convinced that he'd caught his contagious homosexual "disease" from Blaine. By the time he got to the part about the death glare Finn had shot him at dinner just a few hours previously, his sobs were so intense that his voice was practically incomprehensible. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd cried so much, but at the same time, he'd never been so scared before, either.

By the time he was finished speaking, Blaine was completely numb. He wasn't sure what to say or how to feel. He was blood-boilingly mad at Finn Hudson and those other assholes that Kurt had once called friends, he was frustrated that those guys – and the rest of society, for that matter – couldn't see that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the love between two men, but first and foremost, he was beyond scared of what might happen to Kurt.

"Kurt," he said softly, his voice breaking. "Kurt, love, listen to me."

The more he spoke, the more he could notice his voice becoming choked with tears, but he forced himself to try and keep his tone even.

"I want you to do something for me," he continued after taking a moment to try and get a grip on his emotions. "I want you to tell your dad everything you just told me. He needs to know that this was going on."

A note of surprise crept into Kurt's voice as he responded. "How did you know I didn't tell him already?"

"Because when you were telling me just now, I somehow got the feeling that it was the first time you'd told anybody," Blaine told him.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked warily.

There was the sound of audible sobs. Kurt was crying again.

"I can't. I can't do it," he gasped through his tears. "My dad…you should have seen him tonight, Blaine. He's _so _happy with Mrs. Hudson and he couldn't have been more excited to get both of our little families together for dinner tonight. He made some of my mom's old recipes and he tried really hard at cooking everything and he actually did a really good job because the food was great…he worked so hard on everything tonight and I couldn't bring myself to tell him about what happened at school. Because if he knew the truth, I know he would have called Mrs. Hudson and cancelled dinner just to make sure _I _was okay. And I would hate if he felt obligated to do that for me, because I haven't seen him this happy in so long. I couldn't break his heart."

The longer Kurt spoke, the more impassioned Blaine became. He made himself listen patiently and politely, but once Kurt was finished, he responded almost immediately, unable to hold his tongue any longer.

"Listen to me, Kurt." His voice was tender but firm. "You are the kindest, sweetest, most caring person I've ever met – and don't get me wrong, I _love _that about you. I love the way you love so completely. But you can't spare your dad's feelings if it means that _you _are possibly going to be in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation. Sometimes you have to put yourself first. You need to let him know these things so that he can do whatever he can to protect you. To protect _us_. We only have a very, very small number of people on our side, and we can't take that for granted."

He paused for a moment, giving Kurt a second to let that sink in before he continued.

"Look, I know you're always trying to save others," he said softly, "but in this case, you've gotta save yourself first."

"Okay," Kurt whispered.

That was a good sign – or at least, Blaine hoped it was. "Okay, you'll tell him?"

"Yes," Kurt said simply.

"Promise me." Blaine could hear his voice breaking again as he begged. "_Please_, Kurt, promise me."

"I promise," Kurt swore in a solemn whisper that was still choked with tears.

"Thank you," Blaine said humbly, relief slowly soaking into his tone. "Kurt, I hope you know that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life. If anything happened to you, I would…I don't even know. I wouldn't have the slightest clue what to do with myself. You are my everything. All I can say is that Finn Hudson had better thank his lucky stars that I wasn't around today, because if I had seen him hurt you…"

He couldn't even finish his sentence, because suddenly he was crying again. Tears of hot rage spilled down his face as he thought of what he might have done to Finn had he been there. Blaine had never honestly hated anyone in his life – not even his own parents – but for the first time, he felt fierce hatred bubbling in the pit of his stomach and spreading through him until he was convinced beyond a doubt that he hated Finn Hudson with every fiber of his being for what he'd done to Kurt.

"I won't let him hurt me." Kurt's voice, surprisingly, was filled with the quietest confidence as he responded. "Or you, for that matter. _Especially _not you. First thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to tell my dad everything."

They talked for a little bit longer after that, both of them desperate to try and think of happier things that would take their minds off of how scared they truly were. For the time being, each of them was perfectly content to let the other's voice soothe him, and it almost seemed as if everything was going to be okay.

But that sentiment changed for both of them when they decided to say goodnight and hang up. Kurt tried to ignore the pang of loneliness that shot through his heart as he crawled under the covers and closed his eyes, and tried his best to imagine that Blaine was there to hold him.

On the other side of town, Blaine was thinking the same thing as he got ready for bed and tried rather unsuccessfully to fall asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Possible trigger warning for the end? Also, speaking of the end, please don't hate me for the cliff hanger.

* * *

21

The next morning, after a conversation so long that Kurt ended up being late to school, Burt Hummel picked up the phone and called Carole Hudson. Trying his hardest to sound as regretful and reluctant as possible, he explained to her that he wouldn't be able to continue seeing her. Money was getting tight for their little family, he said, and he would have to put in some extra hours at the shop so that he and Kurt would have enough to get by. He simply didn't have the time or the money to continue the relationship. Carole sounded upset, but seemed to understand that Burt needed to do this for his family. Burt thanked her for understanding, and they were seemingly on good terms as they hung up the phone.

Burt wished more than anything that he could have told her the truth: that he thought her son was a worthless piece of shit for what he'd said and did to Kurt, but the last thing he needed was to say anything that might arouse suspicion. And that killed him – more than anything, he wished he could be completely honest with her and with that Finn kid and with just about everyone else without having to worry about what might happen to Kurt or Blaine as a result.

But this was how it had to be, and he wasn't about to put his son or Blaine in danger. What he didn't know was that their secret was a ticking time bomb, and it was only a matter of time until it exploded.

xxx

Kurt slipped into first period calculus twenty minutes late, having lost track of time as he was confessing everything about the situation with Finn to his father that morning. He tried to stay as invisible as possible as he took his seat in the back corner of the classroom, despite the disapproving glares shot his way by his fellow classmates and the teacher (who made a point of acknowledging him with a sarcastic, "Nice of you to join us, Mr. Hummel," even as Kurt was trying his best to remain unnoticed).

He was so tense that he practically jumped out of his skin in shock when Puck, who was sitting on the other side of the girl beside Kurt, leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder. Kurt whirled around in an embarrassing panic, catching his breath just in time to see his former friend snarling as he growled, "I guess you still want to dress like a homo, huh?"

"Leave me alone," Kurt mumbled, turning around to face the front of the room and pretending to be interested in whatever the teacher was saying about polar coordinates.

Puck, however, wouldn't let up.

"I don't know what's the matter with you, Hummel," he muttered, loud enough for only Kurt to hear as he leaned over even closer. "It's like you don't give a shit what anyone else thinks anymore."

"So what?" Kurt shot back under his breath. "Maybe I don't."

"Gentlemen, is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

Both of them immediately whirled around to face the front, where the teacher was staring them down with a disapproving glare.

Puck cleared his throat. "No, ma'am, I was just asking Kurt here if I could borrow a pencil."

Sensing that the teacher wouldn't be satisfied until she saw him hand over some kind of writing utensil, Kurt took his last pencil out of his bag and obediently passed it to Puck. In doing so, he found himself submitting to the same routine he'd have to keep up for as long as he and Blaine were together – allowing himself to be verbally abused and harassed without being able to say or do anything to defend himself, lest he give away their secret. He only hoped that one day, they wouldn't have to put up with this anymore.

xxx

Blaine had barely set foot in the Warblers' rehearsal room that afternoon when he was intercepted by the group's president, a skinny kid named Wes who always had a serious look on his face.

"Blaine, I'm glad I caught you," Wes told him, as if it would have been extremely difficult to track Blaine down had he not stepped into the room right at that very moment. "I wanted to talk to you about one of the songs for sectionals."

Blaine shrugged. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well, since the competition is at McKinley and you used to sing with the New Directions, I figured this would be a great opportunity to use you to our advantage," Wes said, smiling as if he were hiding a juicy secret. "Y'know the song you sang on _Sullivan _over the summer? I don't think I ever figured out what it was called, but you know what I mean, right?"

_Kurt's Song_, Blaine thought as he made a valiant effort to maintain a straight face. _It was called Kurt's Song_. He nodded blankly, waiting for Wes to continue.

"I was thinking you could open up our set with that one," Wes said. "It's a nice, slow ballad, but that'll be our secret weapon. We'll open up with just you at center stage singing lead, with the rest of us doing some a capella harmonies in the background or whatever, then – boom! – we'll launch into a more upbeat number like _that_." He snapped to emphasize how quickly _that _was. "Those New Directions won't know what hit 'em."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Blaine said the second Wes was done talking.

The expectant smile faded from his friend's face as quickly as it had appeared. "What? Why not?"

Blaine had to think fast – after all, there was no way he could tell Wes that he didn't want to sing the song he'd written for Kurt in front of Finn and the rest of those guys. There was no doubt in his mind that they'd pick up on what it was about – or rather, _who _it was about – and that was the last thing he and Kurt needed.

"I just think that having me sing one of my own songs…that might not be a very good idea," Blaine said as smoothly as possible. "I don't know if the judges would like that very much. They might think that it gives us an unfair advantage, and we could get disqualified…I'd hate to feel like I let the whole team down if that happens."

He stood completely frozen for a second, watching Wes's expression carefully to see if he bought it. Thankfully, the Warblers' president didn't question him.

"Hmm, you're probably right. Maybe we should just stick with our original set list after all," Wes admitted. He'd taken a few seconds to marinate on what Blaine had said, but he didn't seem to be questioning it, which was the most important thing.

"Yeah," Blaine agreed. "Let's just do that."

"Besides, we've got our first dress rehearsal next week, so it might be too late to change things up," Wes told him. "Sectionals are at McKinley this year, so we're taking next Friday off from school and heading over there to practice in their auditorium. We've gotta have everything _perfect _by then."

He patted Blaine on the shoulder and headed off to call the rest of the group to order, a process that involved banging some kind of gavel that Blaine had always thought to be unnecessary (they were in high school, for crying out loud, not a courtroom). Blaine, however, stayed exactly where he was, frozen in place by an unexpected sensation of fear.

In a little over a week, he would have to go back to McKinley on a regular school day and possibly be witness to the hell that Kurt was being given. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that it would be very, very hard for him not to interject if he saw something happening – and that was the scariest part of all.

xxx

Kurt had been keeping a vigilant watch by the window ever since he'd gotten home from school. The second he saw David's majestic '54 Fleetwood pull up in front of the house, he immediately burst through the front door and sprinted outside, only to bring himself to a halt right next to the car as Blaine stepped out.

"Happy to see me?" Blaine teased, unable to hide the complete and utter joy that had taken over his face upon seeing Kurt.

"You could say that," Kurt admitted. "I ran out here because I wanted to give you a hug, but then I realized I probably shouldn't." It hurt him a little bit to admit it out loud, but he knew it wasn't safe – not here, not out in the open where the neighbors could possibly see.

"When we get inside, you owe me that hug, and then some," Blaine joked flirtatiously, giving Kurt's arm a subtle squeeze and throwing in a wink for good measure before suddenly turning back to acknowledge his driver through the car's still open door. "Oh yeah, David, I wanted to formally introduce the two of you. I don't know if you've officially met. This is Kurt."

"It's nice to meet you," Kurt said politely, extending his hand.

David shook his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "You too. And I just wanted to tell you personally that I'm on your side."

He gave Kurt a knowing look, but Kurt immediately knew what he meant and was thankful that he'd said it out loud. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"It's not a problem," David told him. "But I know you don't want to waste your time talking to me, so I'll get going so the two of you can go do your own thing. Still want me to come get you at 7, Blaine?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, seven's good." As much as he would have loved to spend as much time as possible with Kurt, he figured it was a good idea to leave relatively early in the evening so that he could get home at a decent time without his parents questioning why "rehearsal" had taken so long.

They waved to David as he drove away, then turned and raced into the house without wasting a second. As soon as they'd made it into the house, Kurt pulled Blaine into the living room and tackled him down onto the couch before pouncing on top of him, both of them dissolving into giggles.

Blaine pursed his lips and pretended to think especially hard. "So…I'm thinking this means yes? You _are _glad to see me?"

"Shut up," Kurt giggled playfully, inching his face even closer to Blaine's. "You know I always am."

Neither of them could hold back any longer, and their lips had collided in a kiss practically before Kurt had even finished speaking. In moments like this, it could be argued that the passion between the two of them was even stronger than that of any other relationship – they always had to hold back so much whenever they were in public, but as soon as they were alone together, it was as if the floodgates opened and everything they'd been restraining finally came pouring out in the form of tender kisses and whispered affections. Today was no different. They were perfectly content to stay intertwined on the couch for quite some time, letting their lips do the talking, making out fiercely for a bit before calming things down with some softer, slower, more innocent kisses.

After a while, Blaine pulled away to catch his breath for a second when suddenly he thought of something. As the realization struck, he laughed bashfully and sat up, burying his face in his hands as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe it," he mumbled with an embarrassed little smile. "Here I am making out with you like nobody's business, right in the middle of your living room. How awkward would it be if your dad walked in?"

"He won't," Kurt reassured him with a smile. He tugged on Blaine's arm to pull him back down so he was lying on the couch. "He told me he'll be at the garage late tonight. We've got the house to ourselves for probably the whole time you'll be here."

Blaine looked into Kurt's sparkling eyes and immediately felt like he was melting – not an uncommon sensation whenever Kurt looked at him like this. He moved his hand up to tenderly caress the other boy's soft cheek; Kurt's eyes softened as he leaned his face into Blaine's touch. Moments like this, Blaine thought, made the whole struggle worth it.

"If I'm not mistaken, that means we can do whatever we want," Blaine said softly, letting his thumb stroke gently up and down Kurt's cheekbone.

"Yeah," Kurt whispered breathlessly, nodding a little bit. "You're right."

Suddenly his eyes, which had started to flutter closed, flew wide open. Blaine was immediately glad that Kurt continued speaking just then, because there was no way he would have remembered how to talk for at least a few seconds. He would never get over just how startlingly beautiful Kurt was.

"But right now, what I really want is for you to kiss me again," Kurt continued in a coy little murmur, pouting his full lips just enough to render Blaine speechless for another second or two.

When he finally remembered how to talk, Blaine shook his head and smiled as he inched his face closer to Kurt's. "You say that as if I could ever refuse."

The rest of the evening was very intimate, very personal, and left both of them craving more in the worst possible way. When they finally managed to untangle themselves from each other and stand up from the couch, they headed out to the kitchen to make dinner together and eventually they found themselves sitting at the dining room table, eating by the light of a few candles Kurt had dug out of the back of a drawer. After they finished eating, they headed back out to the living room and turned on the television. They flipped back and forth between the few channels for a few moments before deciding to keep it on a recent rerun of _I Love Lucy_.

As Kurt snuggled closer to Blaine on the couch, he soon realized that he wasn't going to be able to pay much attention to the humorous escapades of the Ricardos and the Mertzes – not with Blaine holding him in his arms and reminding him, without saying a word, why he was the luckiest boy in the world. He closed his eyes, reveling in how wonderful it felt to be with Blaine like this, and couldn't hold back a smile when he felt Blaine occasionally kissing his temples or stroking his hair. The guys at school could harass him and verbally abuse him all they wanted, he thought, but they would never know just how beautiful it felt to be loved like this.

Too soon, the sound of a car horn blaring outside interrupted their little slice of perfection. Blaine turned to glance at the clock – sure enough, it was 7 p.m. on the dot. David was nothing if not punctual.

Kurt kissed him goodbye at the door, letting his lips linger for a long time before Blaine reluctantly forced himself to break away and pull the door open. They exchanged I-love-yous and promised to see each other soon, but both of them knew in their hearts that _soon _wasn't soon enough.

Kurt stood on the porch and watched the car drive away. Even when he could no longer see the taillights, he remained exactly where he was and thought for a moment. As realization struck, he buried his face in his hands and began to quietly cry to himself.

Tonight, he and Blaine had had the house all to themselves. They'd made dinner together, eaten said dinner together, and cuddled on the couch while watching mindless comedy on television. These were the kinds of things that couples did when they lived together, Kurt thought. The kinds of things they did when they were married.

Blaine was exactly the person he'd like to marry, and it killed him to think that he never would.

xxx

To say that Finn was mad was an understatement. From the moment she'd gotten in the car with him after glee club rehearsal, Rachel Berry was terrified that he'd do something destructive before they even made it back to his house.

"Finn, you're scaring me," she shouted over the roar of the engine as he sped out of the parking lot, tires squealing. "What's going on? What's bothering you?"

Finn slammed on the brakes as he stopped at the stop sign at the end of the parking lot. When he turned to face her, his face was red and twisted with rage.

"You wanna know what's going on?" he snarled. "Why don't you ask Kurt _fucking _Hummel what's going on?"

"I don't understand what Kurt has to do with any of this," Rachel protested as Finn whipped the car around the corner onto the main road.

Oh, Hummel had _everything _to do with how Finn was currently feeling. In fact, this anger had been bubbling up inside of him for a long time, but it wasn't until today that he'd completely exploded.

"You don't _understand_?" Finn repeated mockingly. "Are you fucking _blind_? First he ditches us for that loser Blaine Anderson. Then, Anderson switches schools – thank fucking _Christ _– and Hummel decides he wants to dress like some kind of homo princess and quit smoking and all this shit. It's fucking embarrassing. We can't let him hang out with us if he's gonna be like that."

He paused for a second to exhale deeply, gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"And _then_ – this is what set me off – his dad started dating my mom, and my mom was actually fucking _happy _for once. Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of Hummel, but his dad made my mom happy, and I've really missed seeing that. But then today I went home at lunch to grab some sheet music I forgot for rehearsal…and my mom's in tears, telling me that Burt Hummel fucking dumped her over the phone."

He violently slammed on the brakes as he approached a red light. "You wanna tell me he had nothing to do with that? The timing just seems a little too fucking convenient. He knows I'm onto whatever's going on between him and that Anderson loser. Think about it. He probably convinced his old man to dump my mom because that way I won't be around as much. He knows that I know."

Rachel thought about this, and as much as she hated to admit it, it made perfect sense. Finn may not have been the brightest guy as far as book smarts went, but he was far from stupid.

There was also the fact that he'd been exactly right in assuming that something was going on between Kurt and Blaine. Rachel hadn't thought about that in a while – she knew she was one of just a handful of people who knew their secret – but suddenly, as everything started to make sense, she couldn't take it anymore.

She burst into tears, crying because Finn was right, and there was no telling what he'd do once he found out that he was. And of course, Finn did not let this go unnoticed.

"Oh, c'mon, why are you crying? This has nothing to do with you. Not a single fuckin' thing. _My _mother's well-being and _my _reputation are in jeopardy, and _you're _the one crying?"

Without warning, he suddenly jerked over to the side of the road and parked the car. Rachel was a sloppy, sobbing mess in the passenger seat, unable to get ahold of herself. In that moment, Finn knew that there was something she wasn't telling him, and he was going to get it out of her no matter what it took.

"You know something," he demanded. "There's something you're not telling me."

Rachel shook her head as tears continued pouring down her face. "No, there's not. There's nothing."

Finn reached over and forcefully grabbed her face between his hands, giving her no choice but to look at him straight on.

"Don't fucking lie to me," he snarled. "I'm not afraid to hurt you if you don't tell me what you know."

She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred. For the first time ever, she found himself fearing for her life and blurted out the truth without even thinking.

"Kurt and Blaine are in love," she gasped through sobs. "You were right. You're absolutely right. They love each other, and…and they're together."


	22. Chapter 22

So I guess I'll just get this over with: this story is not going to have a very happy ending, so if that bothers you, please stop reading right now. Actually, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a _sad _ending, but this chapter and the next one will definitely make it seem that way. The events in this chapter as well as the next one are necessary for the closure that I want this story to have in the very end/epilogue, which is coming soon. I would say that the _very _end of this story will be extremely bittersweet and will certainly have some happy elements to it, but these next two chapters are going to be highly traumatic. Unfortunately, based on what I've learned through countless hours of researching and reading about this stuff, things like this were not uncommon during this time period when it came to homosexuality.

Trigger warning here: violence, violence, violence. Like, hate-crime-type violence. Also language. If you can't/don't want to read it, you don't have to. I'll never know.

* * *

22

It would have been all too easy for Finn Hudson to completely destroy Kurt Hummel immediately after finding out his secret.

Finn wanted to do it, too. For the rest of the week, it took all his strength and self-control to resist the urge to beat Hummel into a pulp every time they passed each other in the hallways at school. Finn couldn't stand looking at his stupid face and thinking that this person – who Finn had considered a friend ever since the sixth grade – was out to destroy the very same American values that Finn's father had fought and died for. Hummel's so-called homosexuality made him sick to think about – it wasn't natural, it wasn't right, and Finn was determined to teach him a lesson.

But he couldn't do anything – at least not yet. He had decided to wait until after Sectionals to confront Hummel about it, because he wasn't about to put the whole team in jeopardy by doing anything now. Instead, he would have to put up with being in the same room as Hummel and his disgusting, unnatural tendencies at least until the weekend was over. Then, as soon as he got the chance, Finn would go after him.

But that's the funny thing about plans – sometimes, they don't always go as expected.

xxx

Blaine was looking forward to an excellent couple of days.

His parents had flown to New York for some kind of important business function that his father needed to attend, and they weren't going to be back until at least after the weekend. As soon as he'd heard the news, he'd immediately called Kurt and invited him over to his place – it was slightly odd, he thought, that they'd been together for several months and Kurt had never set foot in his house. Well, that was about to change. Burt Hummel, knowing how little time alone the two of them got to spend together, gave his permission for Kurt to spend the night at Blaine's, provided that his son call him in the morning and return straight home the following afternoon after school.

That Thursday afternoon, Burt peeked into Kurt's halfway-open bedroom door to find his son happily whistling to himself as he packed his things into a leather tote bag. There was something different, something completely joyful, in the way Kurt carried himself, and Burt knew that it had everything to do with the fact that he was on his way to see Blaine.

Kurt brushed by his father as he stepped out into the hallway, tote slung over his shoulder. "I'm heading out, Dad. See ya tomorrow."

His face was touched with a smile so blissful that it lit up his eyes. It was one of those moments where Burt found himself wanting to thank Blaine profusely for making his son so happy.

"Have fun," Burt called after Kurt, who was mindlessly bounding down the stairs. "Hey, don't forget to give me a bell tomorrow morning before you head to school, you dig?"

"Got it!" Kurt turned around at the foot of the steps and gave his father a thumbs-up. He grabbed the car keys off the hook by the front door, and then he was gone.

If Burt had known that it was the last time he would see his son under completely normal circumstances, he would have done more to prolong the moment. He would have given Kurt a hug or reminded him that he loved him – something he knew he didn't tell his son nearly as often as he should. And if he'd known just what was in store for Kurt the following day, Burt wouldn't have let him set a foot outside the door.

xxx

Lisa Anderson was never one to pass up any advantage typically bestowed upon the rich and/or famous, and flying was one of them. She knew she'd had no reason to accompany William on this business trip to New York City, but the thought of flying there on a luxurious jet plane and returning to their family's spacious penthouse apartment right in the center of Manhattan was too wonderful to pass up. Being married to a wealthy businessman and having a wildly popular teen superstar as a son certainly had its advantages.

But once she started thinking of Blaine, suddenly worry crept into her mind. She turned to her husband and tapped him on the shoulder.

William had been reading a Hemingway novel and made it clear that he did not appreciate being interrupted. He rolled his eyes and closed the cover of his book with exasperation. "Yes?"

"I was just thinking," Lisa said carefully. The plane was moving lazily toward the runway, getting ready for takeoff. "Should we really have left Blaine by himself for the weekend?"

"Why, what's the matter?" William snapped. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"His school's singing competition is at McKinley High this weekend," Lisa pointed out. "That's where that Kurt boy goes to school. If something happens…"

The plane turned onto the runway and began accelerating, and Lisa gripped onto her husband's hand. The only part about flying that she didn't enjoy was the liftoff, and she closed her eyes as the plane sped up.

William clenched his hand into a fist around his wife's trembling grip, which didn't help to ease her nervousness in the slightest. He hadn't even considered the possibility that Blaine, with the whole house to himself, might try and lure that Kurt boy into coming back with him after their singing competition. They would have complete and total privacy, so who's to say that he wouldn't…

"If he knows what's best for him," William muttered through his teeth, "he won't get within spitting distance of that boy."

The plane lifted into the air, giving them no time to turn back.

xxx

To say that the Andersons' home was huge was an understatement. Kurt almost felt intimidated as he drove up the huge front driveway, which was probably as long as his entire street, but his nerves were canceled out by his sheer excitement to be with Blaine. Everything about this felt risky and wrong, but that was part of what made it so exciting. By the time he reached the house – which was closer to a mansion than anything Kurt had ever seen before – his heart felt like it was just about to jump out of his chest. It was not an unpleasant feeling.

He parked the car, headed up the imposing front steps, and bit back a smile as he lifted the large brass knocker and pounded it back down a few times. It seemed like forever but was really probably only a few seconds before the door swung open and there was Blaine, hazel eyes touched with love and his face graced with Kurt's favorite smile.

"Hey, come on in." Blaine stepped aside so that Kurt could do so. The second the door was closed, they were in each other's arms. "I can't even tell you how happy I am to see you."

"I know the feeling," Kurt sighed, kissing him softly.

He pulled away with a start, wide-eyed and paler than normal. "Your parents are gone, right?"

"Oh, yeah, they left two hours ago. No sweat," Blaine reassured him with a smile.

"Good," Kurt said breathlessly in relief. "I guess I should have made sure of that before I kissed you, but I'm afraid I got ahead of myself."

Blaine laughed and pulled Kurt closer to him. "Do you see me complaining?"

Their lips collided in another kiss, this one free of any inhibitions, and they pulled away to share a lingering smile. Blaine laced his fingers into the spaces between Kurt's and stepped back to lead him further into the house.

Kurt had never even imagined that people could live in a place this luxurious. Blaine didn't think he'd ever seen Kurt's eyes as wide as they were as he took everything in – the spacious foyer; the grand, looping staircase; the chandelier that probably cost more than the Hummels' entire house.

"You actually _live _here?" Kurt asked after a few seconds of breathless disbelief.

Blaine nodded humbly, shrugging a little bit. "Superfluously unnecessary, isn't it?"

"I guess I just never even dreamed that homes like this existed," Kurt admitted.

Despite his disbelief, curiosity had already gotten the best of him, so he latched onto Blaine's hand again. "Can you show me the rest?"

Blaine led Kurt through each and every extravagant room of his house, a process which took quite some time considering the size of the place. Kurt recalled that it had only taken no more than five minutes for him to show Blaine around his own house a few months back, which was nothing compared to the time it took for this impromptu tour. By the time they made it to their last stop – Blaine's bedroom, which was about three times the size of Kurt's own shoebox of a room – he had experienced more luxury in the past twenty minutes than he had over the course of his entire life up to that point.

As they stood in the doorway, Blaine noticed that Kurt suddenly looked distraught. As tenderly and lovingly as he could, he took Kurt's hand and led him into the room, close to the bed.

"You can sit down if you want," Blaine offered. "Are you feeling all right?"

Kurt sank to a sitting position on the edge of the bed, unable to meet Blaine's eyes even after the other boy took a seat beside him.

"You have a beautiful home, Blaine," he said softly. His voice was practically inaudible; Blaine had to lean in closer in order to hear. "And obviously I know that your career has made you and your family quite wealthy, otherwise you wouldn't be living here. I've never seen this side of your life, and I had no idea what to expect when I came here today."

He sighed, aware of Blaine's eyes on him, and hesitantly looked up from beneath his eyelashes to meet Blaine's loving gaze.

"I guess I just…I see everything that you have here, and I think about what my own life is like," Kurt continued. "You've seen how my dad and I live…it's not glamorous at all. It's nothing compared to this. And I…I think about you, and what I mean to you…where do I fit into this whole extravagant scene? I don't. I never will. Seeing this lifestyle that you're used to…I just think you could do so much better than the poor son of a widowed auto mechanic."

He sniffed back a sob, unaware up to this point of the fact that he was crying, and looked at Blaine with sad, beautiful eyes.

"How the hell am I good enough for you, Blaine?" he whispered.

Blaine looked into Kurt's beautiful eyes, wishing there was some way he could verbalize everything in his head. He wanted to tell Kurt that he was _more _than good enough, too good for someone like Blaine, but he was so overwhelmed that he couldn't put his thoughts into words. But he knew there was some way he had to acknowledge everything that Kurt had just said, so he did what he did best – he placed one hand tenderly on the side of Kurt's face and leaned in to press their lips together, softly kissing away all his doubt. Kurt seemed hesitant at first, but after a second he closed his eyes and relaxed as he felt the tension melting away.

When they broke apart a few moments later, he felt a single tear streaming down his face and more pooling up in his eyes. He wasn't even entirely sure why he was crying – it was some strange mixture of feeling overwhelmingly loved even when he felt like he wasn't good enough. Blaine, still with his hand on Kurt's face, wiped his tears away with his thumb as they fell down his cheeks and looked into his eyes, hoping his gaze reflected the deep love he wanted so badly to communicate.

"I love you so much, Kurt," Blaine murmured. "Do you understand me? You're the most valuable part of my life. You're worth more to me than…than _anything _in this house."

Kurt choked on another sob and Blaine pressed a kiss to his forehead before suddenly standing up from the bed and taking Kurt's hand.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked hesitantly, but took Blaine's hand and stood up all the same.

Blaine didn't say a word as he led Kurt across the room and opened up the door to his large walk-in closet. On the back of a door was a full-length mirror; Blaine maneuvered Kurt so that he was standing directly in front of it and wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders from behind. Kurt took one look at himself, face streaked with tears and eyes bloodshot from crying, and immediately turned his face away.

Blaine shook his head and nudged Kurt's face forward so he could see their reflection in the mirror. "No, look at yourself."

Reluctantly as ever, Kurt's eyes flickered up to meet his own gaze in the mirror.

"You're looking at the most beautiful person, inside and out, that I've ever known," Blaine whispered. "Can't you see?"

Kurt studied the reflection in front of him for a long time. He knew he would never be able to see himself through Blaine's eyes, but at the same time, he knew that what Blaine said was true. He truly _felt _beautiful for the first time in his life.

Before he could say a word, he watched through the reflection as Blaine ducked his head and gently kissed the side of his neck. Kurt let his eyes drift closed for a moment, and when he opened them again, Blaine was meeting his gaze in the mirror.

"You will always be good enough," Blaine said softly. "I think you're perfect."

Kurt turned his head and smiled back at him. "And I think _you're _perfect."

Blaine returned his smile as he placed a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. When they broke away, they both returned their gaze to the mirror, drinking in how the two of them looked together. And that was when Kurt was struck with an idea.

"For some reason, this is making me think we should take a picture together. I don't think we have any of the two of us," he pointed out. "You wouldn't happen to have a camera, would you?"

Blaine bit his lower lip, thinking for a moment before he let go of Kurt and headed over to his dresser to begin rooting through the drawers.

"I know I've got one somewhere around here," he mumbled. "I used to bring one on tour with me so I could take pictures of cool things in all the different cities I went to. I'm just not sure where I put it when we moved into this place."

Kurt watched him open drawer after drawer to look for the camera and noticed for the first time that his bedroom was spotless, almost weirdly so. There was no clutter, nothing out of place, the bed was perfectly made and the floor was completely free of clothing or food or any other random objects that could have ended up there. It certainly didn't look or feel like a teenage boy's bedroom, that was for sure.

Blaine eventually found what he'd been looking for – a Polaroid Speedliner Land camera – and headed back over to where Kurt was waiting in front of the mirror. He stepped up behind Kurt and wrapped one arm around his waist, using the other hand to hold the large, boxy camera and snap the picture.

"It takes a minute or so to develop," Blaine told him. "We'll take another after this one comes out, just so each of us can have one."

After they waited a few moments longer, the camera finally spat out the first picture. Blaine carefully held it between his thumb and forefinger as he shook it vigorously a few times, then when the image had appeared clearly he held it so that Kurt could see.

Blaine was standing behind Kurt, one arm around his waist, pulling him as close as possible. The other was holding the camera in such a way that his own face wasn't obstructed, and Kurt was happy that he'd done that – the image was a little crooked since Blaine hadn't looked directly through the viewfinder, but Kurt would rather he be able to see Blaine's face anyway. Kurt's own hands were resting tenderly on Blaine's arm, and both of them had huge smiles on their faces. Despite the slight crookedness and a strange bright spot next to Blaine's head due to the reflection of the flash, it was perfect.

Kurt studied the picture, nodding in approval and biting back a smile. "We make one hell of a cute couple, if I do say so myself."

"We do," Blaine agreed, then gently maneuvered Kurt to face the mirror again. "Okay, one more."

They took another photo, posing in much the same way. When it was finished developing, Kurt held it next to the first picture and smiled sadly.

"Other celebrities get into relationships, and pictures of those couples are everywhere," he commented absentmindedly. "Blaine Anderson gets into a relationship, and there are a grand total of two pictures of him with the person he loves."

Blaine shook his head as he looked at the pictures. "Y'know, as much as I hate how unfair it is that we have to keep this a secret…in a way, it makes it even more special for the two of us. We don't need reporters and photographers trying to find out every last detail of our relationship. At least this way, we still have our privacy."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "You're right. I don't want to share our relationship with the whole world, anyway." He turned and looped his arms around Blaine's neck, smiling shyly as he continued. "Maybe it's a good thing that I am who I am, because I'm much too selfish for a public relationship. I want to keep you all to myself."

"Likewise," Blaine murmured, pulling Kurt closer. "You will always be my baby boy."

As they kissed again, they managed to maneuver themselves across the room and eventually fell onto the bed, still wrapped up in each other. Kurt pulled Blaine over him and Blaine broke the kiss after a moment, only so he could take a second to look into Kurt's eyes.

Looking back at him was the person whom Blaine knew, without a shadow of a doubt in his mind, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. In Kurt, he'd found everything he'd been looking for through years on end of hiding his most dangerous secret. The thought of forever was both thrilling and terrifying to think about, but he knew there was no reason to be afraid, not when he knew that Kurt would be by his side through it all.

xxx

It started to rain shortly after sunset. From the edges of his consciousness, Kurt could hear the patter of the raindrops on the window, slightly drowned out by the steady rhythm of Blaine's heart.

He could feel Blaine's fingers, calloused from years of playing guitar, ghosting over his back and tracing invisible patterns on his bare skin, and sighed softly in content. For the first time in a while, he finally felt in his heart that everything was actually going to be okay.

He smiled as he turned his face up to look at Blaine. "What are you thinking about?"

"Forever," Blaine admitted. "And how they say nothing ever lasts that long. But lately I've been finding that hard to believe."

He was silent again for a moment, stroking his fingers through Kurt's unruly hair as Kurt's strong hands rubbed up and down his chest. After a while, Blaine met his eyes and found himself melting under Kurt's gaze and his touch all at once.

"I just want _this _to last forever," he continued softly. "I want to be with you like this every single day for the rest of my life. I can't imagine my life any other way."

Kurt smiled up at him. "I don't _want _to imagine my life any other way."

Blaine pulled Kurt up so he could kiss him. Both of them smiled as their lips collided, blissfully unaware that Blaine had been right – nothing _did _last forever – and they were closer to finding that out than expected.

xxx

By morning, the rain had stopped and the ground was frosting over to signal the arrival of the first truly cold day of the year. Neither Kurt nor Blaine paid much mind to the less than desirable weather as they got ready for the day and headed out the door. It was Friday, the day of the Warblers' dress rehearsal at McKinley's auditorium, so Blaine was thrilled to be able to drive to school with Kurt again.

Kurt had been waiting in the car for several minutes, waiting for Blaine to come down and finish getting ready. When the other boy finally stepped out the door, Kurt could have sworn his heart leapt to his throat and proceeded to beat faster than ever before.

It was the first time Kurt had ever seen Blaine in his Dalton Academy uniform, and there were no words to describe how stunningly handsome he looked. As if that wasn't enough, his smile of cheerful nonchalance as he slid into the passenger seat suggested to Kurt that Blaine had absolutely no idea how incredible he looked.

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked casually, having noted that Kurt was wearing what was probably some kind of goofy, lovestricken expression.

Kurt nodded slowly, staring blankly at him. "What time is it?"

Blaine checked his watch. "It's seven thirty."

Kurt pulled the keys out of the ignition and tossed them on the floor so as not to accidentally start the car or something while he was in the process of ravishing Blaine. They had quite a bit of time before the school day actually started, but Mr. Schuester wanted the members of glee club there early so they could rehearse before the actual rehearsal. "I'll try and make this quick, then."

Blaine was about to ask exactly _what _Kurt wanted to make quick, but his question was answered before he could open his mouth when Kurt tackled him down and crushed their lips together. All of a sudden, dance steps and song lyrics were the furthest things from his mind.

xxx

Burt liked to arrive at the shop early, and today was no exception, but one minor annoyance was nagging in the back of his mind and chewing away his ability to concentrate.

Kurt hadn't called, and Burt had specifically told him to call before he and Blaine left for school in the morning. Burt knew Kurt had told him that they were planning at being at school a little earlier than usual for rehearsal, and maybe he'd somehow forgotten due to the switch-up in his usual routine. After all, Kurt wasn't one to intentionally forget something like this.

He rolled his eyes and sighed to himself as he popped open the hood of the rusty '45 Buick that had just been brought in that morning. He knew he shouldn't worry – Kurt was a smart kid, and Burt highly doubted that he hadn't called on purpose. There was really no logical cause for concern.

Was there?

xxx

Finn slammed his locker shut, cursing as he almost crushed his own fingers. He turned away and stormed past Rachel in the direction of the choir room.

"Wait!" He didn't even turn around even at the sound of Rachel's voice. She sounded like she was about to cry. She'd been sounding like that a lot lately.

Persistent as ever, she scurried up beside him. "What is your _problem_?"

"What's it to you?" he muttered without stopping.

"Because I'm _scared_, Finn," she shouted after him. "You've been acting like this ever since I told—"

She abruptly cut herself off in the middle of her sentence, and that was when Finn turned around.

"Since you told me what?" he sneered, approaching her as she stood there cowering. "Since you told me that Hummel's on the hook with that loser Blaine Anderson?"

"Finn, _stop _it!" she said as loud as she possibly could without drawing unnecessary attention. It was still relatively early so there wasn't necessarily a huge crowd milling about the hallway, but she felt horrible about telling Finn the truth about the two of them and the last thing she needed was for something to happen to either of them as a result. "You can't say that here!"

"The two of them are jeopardizing every single American value my father gave his life for in the war. I'll say whatever the hell I want about them," he spat.

Rachel burst into laughter. "I can't believe you, of all people, know what a big word like 'jeopardize' means."

"Oh, so now you think I'm stupid," Finn shot back.

"I don't think so," Rachel snapped. "I _know _so."

As they continued bickering back and forth, both of them were completely oblivious to the fact that Kurt and Blaine had just slipped past them.

xxx

Blaine shot a look back over his shoulder at Finn, who was borderline shouting at Rachel in the middle of the hallway for insulting his intelligence or something along those lines.

"Those two seem like they're doing well," he commented with flat sarcasm.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Please, they've been a train wreck all week long. I'm surprised they even still call themselves a couple at this point."

"Not to sound all cocky, but it's ridiculous to think that people like that would be allowed to get married and the two of us wouldn't," Blaine muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat and continued in a much more audible tone. "Anyway, I'm meeting up with the rest of the guys in the auditorium in five minutes. See you later."

"Okay," Kurt said with a smile. "Good luck. See you later."

They turned to go their separate ways without sharing the embrace or the kiss that both of them longed for so much. Kurt headed down the hall toward the choir room, unaware that he was being followed.

xxx

The choir room was empty, save for Mike and Tina in the back corner looking over their music – oh, yeah, and Hummel accompanying himself on the piano as he sang some warm-up scales.

Finn threw open the door, causing the three of them to jump, and stormed into the room.

Mike stood up and immediately paced across the room toward him. "Hudson, man, what's going on?"

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Finn shouted at Kurt, completely ignoring Mike. "And don't think for a _second _that I didn't see you and Anderson just now."

Kurt took a deep breath and remained as calm as he possibly could. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said coolly. "Blaine is here because the Warblers are using our auditorium to rehearse. I gave him a ride because he lives close enough for me to just swing by and pick him up on my way here."

Finn responded by bracing his hands against Kurt's shoulders and shoving him violently up against the nearest wall. When he leaned in to speak, his face was so close that Kurt could smell his stale breath and he winced in disgust.

"Y'know, it's one thing to associate with the enemy," Finn sneered. "It's another to be in some kind of disgusting homo relationship with them."

Kurt went numb at his words and tried his best not to let it show on his face, despite the shock to his heart that made every single one of his limbs turn to jelly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he whispered, looking straight into Finn's eyes.

"Yes you do!" Finn shouted, shaking Kurt by the shoulders. "You and Anderson are together! Now why the fuck won't you just admit it?"

"Because I don't owe you anything!" Kurt screamed right back in his face. "Now let me _go_!"

He grunted as he attempted to shove Finn out of the way to no avail – Kurt was far from weak, but Finn had a good five inches and fifty pounds on him.

As soon as the physical confrontation had started, Mike had quickly ushered Tina out of the room only to return with Puck and Sam. Finn was unaware of this until he heard Puck's cigarette-choked voice ask from behind him, "What's going on here?"

Finn whirled around, shoving Kurt to the ground at the feet of the other two. "Why don't you ask Kurt Hummel, McKinley High's very own _homosexual_?"

"You don't know that," Kurt shouted, finding himself in more pain than he'd expected as he struggled to pull himself to his feet. "You have _no _way of knowing that."

"Oh, but I do." Finn smiled as he shoved Kurt right back down again, this time with even more force. "Rachel told me everything. In fact, boys, why don't we go and find Anderson right now and kick the living daylights out of him, too?"

"_No_." Adrenaline surged through Kurt as he jumped to his feet and grabbed the front of Finn's t-shirt, backing him up against the same wall he'd been holding Kurt against just moments before. "You won't _touch _him."

"Hey, man, I think he's got a point," Sam chimed in as Finn shoved Kurt off of him, kicking him to the ground yet again. "We can't go after Anderson, because everyone _loves _Anderson. We can get away with this…," he picked up his foot and kicked Kurt square in the face, sneering down at him as he continued, "because no one will care if anything happens to you. You're _nobody_."

Kurt felt liquid warmth on his face, unable to tell if it was tears or blood – probably both. The four guys were taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't see well enough to get up and continued to kick him while he was down, cackling like hyenas with each strike of their feet against Kurt's body.

"Hey, I know, I know," Puck said after a second of laughter. "Let's take him outside in front of everyone and see who gives enough of a shit to try and save him."

The other three hooted with laughter and were already starting to drag Kurt toward the door, past the horrified faces of several New Directions members who had trickled into the room while all this was going on. Kurt opened his mouth to scream for help, a gesture which was immediately met by a punch in the face from Puck.

"Shut your disgusting homo mouth," he snapped before acknowledging Kurt's tormentors. "Wait just a second."

He ran across the room to the supply closet and reappeared a moment later with a roll of shiny silver duct tape. He grinned as he tossed it to Mike, who caught it one-handed as Puck ducked back into the closet to grab some more items.

"There's a whole bunch of shit in here we can use," he called over his shoulder to the guys. Kurt, heart pounding wildly with fear and body screaming in pain, attempted to crane his neck to see what else Puck was getting, but his view was immediately obstructed by Mike, who ripped off a piece of duct tape and slapped it over Kurt's mouth.

"That'll teach you to shut the fuck up," he sneered. "All right, let's go!"

Kurt was in too much pain at this point to fight back against the four of them, so he resorted to hoping for some kind of outside intervention as he was dragged through the hallways past the students who had just traipsed off the first round of buses. It was still relatively early, so most of the teachers had yet to arrive, and Kurt felt more hot tears stinging his face as he thought about the fact that nobody was going to do anything. Why did this have to happen _today_, why _now_, when there was hardly an authority figure to be found in the building just yet?

And more importantly, what had he done to deserve this in the first place?

xxx

Blaine was standing at center stage, the glare of the spotlight warming his skin from up above. Behind him, the rest of the Warblers stood in formation, ready to begin at a minute's notice. He struck his trusty tuning fork to get his own pitch, which he hummed loudly enough for the first row of Warblers behind him to hear. Row by row, the rest of the group caught their opening pitches and Blaine abruptly raised his hand to cut them off once he'd ensured that they were all in tune.

The Warblers launched into their acapella opening, laying down the beat of the song behind Blaine, who closed his eyes for a moment as he prepared to sing.

When he opened them again, he caught sight of the open main door to the auditorium right as a huge crowd stampeded by.

Blaine had been in the music industry long enough by now to know that you never, _ever _left the stage during a song, even if said song had barely even started. It was an unwritten cardinal rule that he'd always followed, even during one of his performances about a year earlier during which he'd started feeling sick to his stomach right in the middle of a song. He'd finished the number with his signature flair and had promptly dashed offstage just in time to puke his guts out as a result of what turned out to be a nasty case of food poisoning. The remainder of the show had obviously been canceled, and Blaine felt terrible, but he had the dignity of knowing that he at least hadn't just left in the middle of a song.

But this time was different. Something told him that he should run after them, so he jumped off the stage and sprinted toward the door to do just that.

His fellow Warblers were calling after him and some even started to chase him after a few seconds of confusion, but Blaine paid them no mind. His heart was pounding in his ears and his footsteps fell heavy on the ground as he chased after the crowd. He had no clue what all the commotion was about, but there was only one word that pulsated through his mind as he ran.

_Kurt_.

xxx

The crowd around the flagpole was already a good four or five people deep by the time Blaine managed to push his way out into the chilly November air. There wasn't a great amount of students there, since barely any had arrived at school just yet, but even the relatively small group was too many. He shoved through the gawking crowd to the best of his ability, picking up only fragments of information about what was happening from the tidbits of conversation that he managed to overhear.

"I guess he was secretly a homosexual this whole time…"

"…worse than a Communist…"

"…and I heard he was in love with Blaine Anderson, or something."

Blaine had been suspecting the worst this whole time, but the sound of his own name and the grisly sight that greeted him at the front of the crowd only confirmed his fear. All of a sudden, he was face-to-face with the most terrifying nightmare he'd never dared to dream.

Kurt was in a sitting position on the ground, slumped against the flagpole with his hands tied behind his back around the pole. His shirt, which had been violently torn from his body, was laying in tatters a few feet away and the word _HOMO _was branded across his chest in bright red spray paint. A silver rectangle of duct tape covered his mouth. Almost every single inch of the beautiful, pale skin that Blaine had mapped out with his own lips and hands was covered in splotchy bruises, marks of hatred.

Blaine was at the front of the crowd, in front of everyone, but he didn't even care. He looked at the battered, bruised, bleeding, broken form of the boy he loved and immediately felt hot tears of anger coursing down his face.

He blinked through the screen of tears and began looking around for that sonofabitch Finn Hudson, who he _knew _had to be behind this. Luckily, it didn't take long.

"Well, lookie here. If it isn't _Blaine Anderson_."

Blaine had never hated the sound of his own name so much. He furiously whirled in the direction from which the voice had come and lunged himself at Finn, who laughed as he easily lifted Blaine's much smaller form off of himself. Puck, always Finn's second in command, stepped up behind Blaine and restrained him.

"Y'know, we were thinking about coming after you, too, but we decided against it," Finn told him, pretending to be oblivious to Blaine's hateful glare. "But seeing your face right now almost makes me wish that we'd gone ahead and done it anyway."

"You'd better let him go," Blaine spat through his teeth, still fighting unsuccessfully against Puck's grasp. "Don't you _dare _lay another finger on him."

Finn smiled. "That's what we have you for."

"Excuse me?" Blaine snapped.

"I'll make you a deal, Anderson," Finn was saying, completely ignoring Blaine. He took Blaine from Puck's vice grip and grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at Kurt. "If you help us out and finish him off, we won't kick the living shit out of you. But if you don't, that's exactly what we'll have to do."

Blaine must have had some kind of unrecognizable expression of disgust on his face, because Mike chimed in to clarify what Finn had said, as if Blaine had misunderstood.

"Either you beat him til he's even more black and blue than he already is, or we'll do what to you what we did to him," Mike said. "Either way, _we _won't be laying another finger on him, just like you wanted." He burst into laughter, as if Blaine had just cracked the funniest joke he'd ever heard in his life.

Blaine felt as if his heart had stopped and all the blood had been frozen in his veins. He remained still for a moment, unable to move even if he'd wanted to. He was oblivious to the distant, gradually approaching wail of an ambulance siren and the muffled shouts of the few teachers who happened to be at school early as they fought to get through the crowd. More students had arrived to school and, upon noticing the large crowd out front, had wandered over to see what the commotion was all about. But all he could focus on was Kurt.

He carefully stepped forward, kneeling in front of Kurt on shaky legs. Kurt's entire body was trembling; whether from fear or from the cold or both, Blaine couldn't tell. His eyes were rimmed in bloodshot red from crying and one of them was encompassed by a swollen black eye, but their startlingly beautiful glasz color was as striking as ever to Blaine.

Very carefully, so as not to cause him any more pain than necessary, he peeled the duct tape away from Kurt's mouth. The second the tape was gone, Kurt sucked in a loud gasp. At first Blaine thought he'd been gasping for air; it took him a second to realize that his gasp was merely a loud sob. Kurt's entire face was coated in tears, and he'd been crying silently behind the duct tape for the past several minutes.

Then, out of nowhere, he opened his mouth to speak. His sobs were so intense that Blaine could hardly understand him.

"P-please, Blaine, you h-have to hurt me," he whispered brokenly. "D-do it to save yourself. Please h-hurt m-me, Blaine, p-_please_."

Blaine looked into his eyes and shook his head, not even daring to entertain the thought of hurting him for a second. The sirens were getting closer, and Kurt would be rescued in a matter of minutes. He had to act quickly before they took him away. Everyone already knew Kurt's secret, so Blaine thought they might as well learn his as well.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kurt," he whispered, his voice so soft that only Kurt could hear. "Not now, not ever. And no matter what happens to me after this, I want you to know that I love you."

He could tell that Kurt wanted to ask what he meant by _after this_, but he soon got his answer. The second Blaine was finished speaking, he leaned in to close the small distance between them and gave Kurt a soft, gentle, tender kiss on his swollen lips.

The kiss didn't last very long, maybe a second or two, but it was a second or two too many for the stunned crowd that surrounded the flagpole. A unified gasp went up from the group; near the back, someone screamed. Blaine hardly noticed their reaction. He broke away after a moment and looked into Kurt's eyes again. For a moment, it was so silent and so calm that it felt as if they were the last two people on earth.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, the calmness vanished into thin air and chaos transpired yet again. The ambulance had arrived and a group of paramedics was fighting to get a stretcher through the crowd. Blaine stepped back so that they would be able to get to Kurt, and his eyes remained locked with the other boy's for a moment longer before the EMS team barged on through like group of knights in shining armor to save him. They obstructed Blaine's view as they worked to free Kurt from his bindings and load him onto the stretcher, and Blaine turned away only to find himself looking right at Finn Hudson.

They locked eyes for a moment, and Blaine thought about how easy it would have been for Finn to punch the daylights out of him even in the midst of all the chaos. But suddenly everything was closing in around him, overwhelming him, and he needed nothing more than to escape. His head was spinning and he thought he might just go mad if he had to stand in the middle of all these people any longer.

He saw Finn's hand jerk up, as if he were about to reach out and grab Blaine, but Blaine didn't give him a chance to do so. Without even thinking, he pushed his way through the chaos of the crowd, through the endless mass of students and the few teachers who had arrived to school early enough to see what had been going on. Blaine was furious at them – at every single one of the people in the crowd – for not having done anything, but he didn't have time to be angry. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to leave before his world came crashing down around him even more.

xxx

While his son was being publicly humiliated and injured, Burt was blissfully unaware of what was going on. He'd managed to push aside his inhibitions regarding the fact that Kurt had yet to call him, chalking it up to a moment of adolescent forgetfulness, and had instead focused on putting all his energy into the cars that had brought into the shop that morning.

He felt as if he'd been more productive than usual, and he wasn't about to let anything stop him. When one of his best customers rolled up in what would be Burt's fourth car of the morning, he greeted the man with a smile and a handshake as he stepped into the garage.

"What can I do for you?" Burt asked cheerfully.

"Needs an oil change," the man told him. "Real exciting, right?"

Burt threw up his hands to concede as he turned and headed to the shelf behind him to get the supplies that he needed. "Hey, nothing's too boring for me. You forgot that I live for this stuff."

He popped open the hood and unscrewed the cap of the oil tank. "So what's buzzin' with you? Anything new or exciting?"

"Well, actually, I just saw something on my way over here," the man said casually, not having any idea that what he was about to say would haunt Burt forever. "Drove by McKinley High just up the road and there was a huge group of kids out front around the flagpole. I could hear them yelling at some kid, calling him a 'dirty homo' or something." He burst into a hearty laugh. "Don't know what that's all about, but all I can say is that if what they're sayin' is true, the sonofabitch had it coming."

He kept talking, going on about something that Burt could no longer hear. All of a sudden he froze in place, every single limb in his body going numb for a moment before he dropped his oily rag on the ground and broke into a dead sprint in the direction of his son's school.

xxx

"Kurt!"

Blaine wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he stopped in place when he heard the familiar voice shouting desperately above the chaos of the crowd. He'd managed to escape somewhat and had gotten a considerable distance away from the thick of the commotion, but when he heard Burt Hummel's voice, he breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had something familiar to run to.

"Kurt Hummel!" Burt's voice was saturated with tears. "Has anyone seen my son?"

"Burt!" Blaine shouted, running in the direction of his voice and finding Burt almost immediately near the edge of the parking lot.

He'd been running for so long that he hadn't yet taken the opportunity to let his emotions catch up with him. When he finally came to an abrupt halt in front of Kurt's father, he paused to catch his breath and instead unleashed a torrent of shuddering, wailing sobs.

"Jesus Christ, Blaine," Burt muttered in stunned shock, stepping forward to wrap a protective arm around Blaine's shoulders. "Are you okay? Where's Kurt? What the hell's going on?"

Blaine shook his head and attempted to speak, but his tears were so intense that he couldn't even form words properly.

"Blaine, I can see that you're upset, but I _need _you to explain this to me," Burt said gently but firmly, his voice breaking just a bit.

"They just took Kurt away in an ambulance," Blaine gasped through his tears. "The guys…th-they found out about us and they beat the living shit out of him."

He turned his face into Burt's shoulder, sobbing even more uncontrollably with every breath he took, and Burt immediately embraced the boy he'd grown to love like a son. They stood there for a moment longer, hugging each other for support as they tried to wrap their minds around what had happened to the boy they both loved. Blaine was the first one to break away, but even as he did so, Burt kept an arm around his shoulders for fear that Blaine somehow would collapse from sheer grief if he tried to walk on his own.

"I need to go," Blaine mumbled. "I need to get out of here. I can't…I can't be here anymore."

Burt had never had occasion to use the spare key to the Crestliner that he kept on his key ring at all times, but there was a first time for everything. He unclipped the key ring from his belt and fumbled for the correct key through tears that were starting to pool up in his own eyes.

"Let's get you out of here," he muttered absently. "By any chance, do you remember where Kurt parked the car when you two got here this morning?"

Blaine did, but only because Kurt parked in the same spot every day. He led Burt to the car and collapsed into the passenger seat as soon as the door was unlocked. For the first time, he noticed that he was literally trembling with emotion.

"Blaine, I know this is going to be tough as hell for you to explain and for me to hear, but I want you to explain everything," Burt commanded, his voice shaky as he stuck the key into the ignition and started the car. "What all happened to Kurt?"

Blaine inhaled a ragged breath and began recap the events of the entire morning up to that point, tears still falling liberally down his face the entire time. When he got to the part about how he'd been dared to finish Kurt off and essentially knock him unconscious, his voice was so stricken with tears that Burt had to strain to understand what he was saying. He let himself cry without even attempting to say a word for a good minute or so before finally admitting that instead of delivering one final blow of damage to Kurt, he'd kissed him instead.

"Oh my god," Burt murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. "_Oh my god_."

They were in the Hummels' driveway at this point, since it hadn't taken them very long at all to drive there from the high school, but neither of them made any move to get out of the car.

Burt was still clenching the steering wheel, his grip so tight that his knuckles had turned bone white. "I _swear _to god, Blaine, if I see any of those four motherfuckers, I'm going to…"

He shook his head again, pausing before he could finish his sentence, and let his eyes fall closed in defeat. A solitary tear rolled down his cheek, the first Blaine had seen him shed. For some reason, seeing Kurt's dad cry only broke Blaine's heart even more.

"So what do we do now?" Blaine asked after a long silence.

Burt opened his eyes and sighed, turning to look at Blaine so he knew he was serious about everything he was going to say.

"I am going to go to the hospital to see what's going on with Kurt," he said slowly. "And you are going to stay here."

"What?" Blaine asked, raising his voice in disbelief. "Can't I come with you and see him?"

"I would love nothing more than to have you come with me, and I'm sure Kurt would love that, too," Burt explained. "But as much as I hate to say this, that's just about the stupidest thing we could possibly do right now. The last place you need to be is out in public. Word's gonna get out about this real quick, and there's no telling what could happen to you if someone sees you."

"I'll be careful," Blaine begged. "_Please _let me come see him. _Please_."

Burt simply shook his head. "I'm doing this both for your own good and because I know Kurt would be beyond devastated if anything happened to you. Now obviously I haven't seen him yet, but from what I understand, his heart's just about the only part of him that isn't broken. Let's keep it that way."

Blaine paused for a moment, thinking about what Burt had said. He knew Kurt loved him – there was no doubt in his mind about that – and he knew that Kurt would never want to see him get hurt. Hell, just that same morning Kurt had begged Blaine to hurt _him _in order to spare himself the possibility of being physically tormented.

"All right," he whispered, nodding as another tear slid down his face. He was surprised he even had any tears left to cry.

"I promise I'll call here from the hospital as soon as I find out what's going on with him," Burt told him. "You can let yourself in with the key under the mat, and try and lay low. Shades down, windows shut. You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen and feel free to watch all the television you want, but just don't do anything that might signal to people that you're in there by yourself, you dig?"

Blaine nodded again and opened the door.

"Thanks," he whispered as he stepped out of the car. His voice was so soft that Burt wondered if he'd only imagined it.

He must have let himself into the house and closed the door behind him. He must have walked up the stairs. He must have wandered into Kurt's bedroom, but he didn't remember doing any of those things. All he knew was that somehow he'd ended up lying on his stomach on Kurt's bed.

By this point, he was numb. There was nothing left to do but wait. He could feel the dried tear tracks on his face and wondered if he even had any tears left to cry.

He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Kurt from the sheets, and suddenly his mind was filled with bright, vibrant images of the boy he loved.

Kurt, whose smile never failed to cheer Blaine up no matter how bad of a day he'd been having.

Kurt, whose beautiful eyes said more with one look than most people could say with a thousand words.

Kurt, the sweetest and most wonderful boy Blaine had ever known, who would never even dream of hurting anybody.

Kurt, who loved so compassionately and so deeply that Blaine found it impossible to believe that there was a single bad cell in his body.

Kurt, who Blaine loved more and more with every beat of his heart – and who, by some miracle, loved Blaine just as much.

As he considered all these tiny facets of Kurt's perfection, the tears came back.


	23. Chapter 23

Oh god, how embarrassing. Thank you to everyone who let me know that the chapter cut off. Let's try this again…

I'll put the same warning here as I did at the beginning of the last chapter: if you don't want to read something that doesn't necessarily have the happiest of endings, please stop right now. This one deserves even more of a warning than the last chapter because it includes a character death, so if you don't think you can handle that and want to stop reading, I completely understand. This was extremely hard to write but I felt like it had to be done in order to keep things realistic.

After this, I'm only planning on having one more chapter and then an epilogue, which will be a little bit happier. That's why I'm hesitant to say that this story has a "sad" ending, even though it may seem that way with this chapter. If anything, I would say that it's going to be very, very bittersweet.

This chapter is a little bit longer than most of the others. I did consider breaking it up into two separate chapters, but I decided not to do that because even though there's a lot that happens in this one, it seemed appropriate to keep it all together.

Like I said before, trigger warning for major character death as well as violence (though not nearly as intense as what happened in the last chapter). Also, this is the last chapter I'll have to put a warning for – things will definitely calm down in the next chapter and the epilogue.

23

To say that waiting to hear from Burt was difficult for Blaine would have been the understatement of the year. Every second that passed without the phone ringing was like a stab to his already broken heart – but by that point, he was surprised that he still had a heart left to break.

He felt as if someone had thrust their hand through his chest, ripped his heart straight out, torn it into pieces and then set those pieces on fire. In all honesty, that would have been less painful than the sight of Kurt's battered body tethered to the flagpole. He knew that the memories and images of that morning would be burned into his mind for a very long time, if not for the rest of his life.

At first, he tried to go on and do normal things to take his mind off the situation. He stood up from Kurt's bed and headed downstairs, turning on the television in the living room and sitting down directly in front of the screen. It was the Friday before Election Day, and some important-looking man behind a desk was recapping the most recent debate between President Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson for those who hadn't had a chance to listen to it on the radio the night before. Blaine tried his best to watch and clear his mind, but soon found that it was impossible to care about politics at a time like this.

He reached forward and checked to see what was on each of the other two channels, not paying any attention to what the programs actually were. After a few seconds he numbly stood up and turned off the television, heading upstairs only to end up back where he'd started.

He collapsed onto Kurt's bed again and, almost simultaneously, the phone rang. He jumped up with a start and immediately grabbed the receiver on the nightstand, answering with a careful, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Burt Hummel's voice said from the other end, causing Blaine to exhale an audible sigh of relief. "How are you holding up?"

"Not so well. I've been worried sick about Kurt, and I'm still mad about what happened, and…I'm just kind of a mess right now," Blaine admitted. "How is he? What have the doctors said?"

"They said it's a possibility that he suffered head trauma, because the way he was being handled during the incident probably caused his head to be banged around quite a bit," Burt explained. "Lots of bruising, obviously, some may be internal. His nose is broken...he didn't lose a whole lot of blood, which is good. He _did _get one of his teeth knocked out, but they should be able to get it replaced…they're actually working on that as we speak. They're also concerned that the tight binding of his wrists may have caused a lack of circulation to his hands, so they're keeping an eye on the blood flow there."

Blaine wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to hear, but the news was overwhelming enough. He leaned forward, propping his elbows up on his knees and letting his head fall into his free hand.

"I can't believe this. I don't _want _to believe this," he murmured. "I don't want to believe that anyone would be able to look into his eyes and hurt him."

"I know," Burt agreed solemnly. "This type of thing is my worst nightmare as a father."

Blaine was quiet for a second, letting everything sink in, when suddenly he thought of something. When he opened his mouth to ask the question, his voice was shaky and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Have they said anything to you about…about why those guys did what they did?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean…about Kurt being the way he is?"

He could almost see Burt rolling his eyes as he sighed in exasperation. "Oh, I've just had about four or five different doctors come up to me and recommend who they consider to be the _best _mental health specialists in the state," he said. "I wish I was lying when I say that I've heard, 'They can fix your son' more times today than I would care to remember."

Blaine winced. "Why does he need to be fixed? He isn't broken."

"Try telling that to these folks," Burt muttered. "Anyway, I told them I appreciated their input but that I would make the arrangements on my own."

"You're not really going to have him admitted to the nuthouse or anything, are you?" Blaine asked carefully.

Burt scoffed. "God, no. You really think I'd do that? I just said that to get these doctors to leave me alone about it."

"I'm surprised the hospital even admitted him at all," Blaine said carefully. "I honestly had a feeling they would turn him away when they heard why he was in that condition…why the guys beat him up."

"Oh, y'know, as long as they get their money, that's all they care about," Burt commented flatly. "Money that I don't have, by the way. I'm self-employed, so we don't have as good of insurance as most people do. I don't know what I'm going to do…I might have to dip into Kurt's college fund. But who knows if he'll even be able to go to college still? He got accepted everywhere he applied, but I wouldn't be surprised if some places revoked his acceptance after they get wind of this…"

He was rambling – something that Kurt tended to do whenever he was upset, and suddenly Blaine could see where he'd gotten it from.

"I hate this," Blaine mumbled, tears pooling up in his eyes yet again. "You two don't deserve this. Kurt didn't do anything wrong. He never hurt anyone, and they're treating him like some kind of criminal."

"I know," Burt said. He sighed, and when he spoke again his voice had a hint of optimism.

"The good news is that he'll probably be home tomorrow. They want to keep him here overnight so they can monitor how he's doing, especially since he appears to have suffered a head injury. But if all goes well, they want to release him as early as tomorrow afternoon. He'll be on strict bed rest at home, so he won't be able to do much, but at least you'll get to see him and he'll be much more at ease in his own house."

For the first time since he'd arrived at school that morning, Blaine felt a faint smile blooming across his face.

"That's wonderful," he said softly.

"He's been asking about you," Burt told him. "When he's awake, that is. He's been sleeping a lot since he got here, but he was awake right before I called you. He asked why you weren't here, and I explained to him that it wasn't a good idea for you to be in public right now – besides, even if you _were _here, I doubt the doctors would have let you come in to see him. And he was upset, y'know, but after a while he agreed that it was a good thing that you didn't come. He didn't want to have to worry about anything happening to you." Burt laughed a little bit. "He goes, 'If anything happened to Blaine while he was here to see me, I don't know what I'd do with myself.'"

Blaine smiled, his heart sufficiently touched, and shook his head in disbelief.

"This is exactly why I love him so much," he whispered. "He has the most caring heart of anyone I've ever known."

"He gets that from his mother," Burt told him. "By the way, he wanted me to tell you that he loves you."

Blaine closed his eyes, so overwhelmed with love that he had to pause to collect himself before he spoke.

"Please tell him I love him, too," he said softly. "And that he's forever my boy, no matter what anyone says or does to us."

"I will," Burt promised. "Hey, someone's waiting to use the phone, so I'm gonna go check on Kurt and see if they got his tooth fixed yet. I think I'll stay here at the hospital for the rest of the afternoon just so I can keep track of what's going on...I'll be back home tonight and then I'll leave tomorrow to come back here and pick him up, does that sound good?"

Blaine nodded before realizing that Burt couldn't see him through the phone. "Yeah, that's good."

"Are you sure? I hate to leave you by yourself for so long," Burt asked warily. "If you need anything, call the hospital and ask for me. I don't know the number off the top of my head, but the Yellow Pages is in the junk drawer in the kitchen."

"I'll be fine," Blaine told him, not sure if he was trying to convince Burt or himself more.

"Are you sure about that?" Burt asked.

Blaine smiled the tiniest bit. In some ways, Burt's kindness and compassion made him seem like the kind of father Blaine wished he could have had.

"I think so," Blaine admitted. "I think once I see him for myself tomorrow, I'll know for sure."

He and Burt said their goodbyes, and when Blaine hung up the phone, he found that the feeling of numbness had returned. He wanted to cry; he wanted to scream his frustration and anger for the entire world to hear; he wanted to burst through the door and run all the way across town to the hospital so that he could see his boy.

But as it turned out, he had no energy left to do any of these things. It wasn't even noon yet and he was already so, so tired. He crawled beneath the covers of Kurt's bed, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of the boy he loved from the sheets. If he really focused on pretending, it was almost enough to convince him that Kurt was lying beside him.

Almost.

xxx

Burt had been trying so hard to remain positive throughout the course of the morning for Kurt's sake. As he returned to his son's hospital room following his phone conversation with Blaine, he found that it actually wasn't too hard to remain optimistic. For some reason, talking to Blaine had lifted his spirits, and he thought that probably had something to do with the fact that he knew Kurt would be so incredibly happy when Burt told him about their conversation.

"You doing okay?" Burt asked as he took a seat in the chair he'd pulled up to Kurt's bedside.

Kurt shrugged, wincing when the slight movement sent a shot of pain through his torso from a rather large bruise he had on his shoulder. He attempted to smile, but it came off looking like more of a grimace.

"I got a new tooth." He pointed to the replacement denture which had been fitted into place along his top row of teeth, and Burt resisted the urge to wince when he saw it. To anyone else, nothing would have seemed abnormal about it, but Burt noticed almost immediately that it was larger than the rest of Kurt's teeth and the color was slightly off. He tried not to think about the fact that he would recall this horrific event every time he saw his son smile from now on.

"How's Blaine doing?" Kurt asked before Burt could say anything in response, snapping his father back into reality.

Burt leaned forward in his chair a little bit. He looked past the black eye that swelled up over nearly half of his son's face and into the eyes of the boy he'd spent seventeen years raising. In that moment, he knew that Kurt needed him more than ever before, and he had to be completely honest.

"Look, I just spent fifteen minutes on the phone with Blaine," Burt said slowly. "And in those fifteen minutes, he talked about you and only you. The poor guy's worried sick about you, kid. He's just as much a part of this relationship as you are, but he didn't say a damn thing about himself. Not once did he say, 'What's going to happen to me?' The only thing he cared about was you."

Kurt's gaze flickered away as he attempted to take all this in. Blaine's complete and utter selflessness had always amazed him, but this took things to a whole new level.

"He said to tell you he loves you, too, and that you're forever his boy no matter what anyone says or does," Burt added after a second of silence.

Kurt closed his eyes, feeling a tear slip down his cheek, unable to believe that he could still feel so loved when everything else about him was broken.

"How did I get so lucky?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Burt's heart was touched when he noticed that Kurt seemed to be wearing a genuine smile for the first time since they'd arrived at the hospital.

Kurt shook his head in disbelief, still smiling humbly as he continued. "I don't think I'll ever figure out what I did to deserve someone as incredible as him."

In that moment, Burt wished everyone in the world could see the unadulterated love on his son's face. Here Kurt was, recovering in the hospital after being beaten into near oblivion, and he could still smile like this – all because of Blaine. _Look at him_, Burt wanted to say to just about anyone within earshot. _Do you see that smile? Do you see how happy he is? It's all because of another boy. What about that is unnatural? Why is that wrong? _

"I'm so glad you two found each other," Burt told his son honestly. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy."

"Even right now?" Kurt asked warily.

"Even right now," Burt told him.

Kurt sighed and leaned back against the pillows, which he'd propped up at the top of the bed. "Thinking about him is pretty much the only thing that's keeping me going right now," he said weakly, tears choking his voice. "I want to see him so bad. I just want to be with him, but I have to stay here and I know he can't come here. I keep telling myself that it's just 24 hours. Just 24 more hours until I can be with him."

"It'll be here before you know it," Burt assured him. "Other than that, how are you feeling? How's the pain?"

"Everything hurts," Kurt retorted flatly. "Doesn't feel like it'll ever stop. I'll be lucky if these bruises ever go away." He picked up the collar of his hospital gown and glanced down beneath it at the splotches of black and blue that had pooled up beneath his pale skin. "At least they were able to get the spray paint off. I'd hate to have a constant reminder of _exactly _who I am stained onto my skin for the rest of my life."

"Y'know what?" Burt asked in response, his voice swelling with emotion as he spoke. "If that's all those bastards think of you, then it just goes to show how stupid and small-minded they really are. Who you're attracted to…who you love…that doesn't define you. It's _how _you love that does." He closed his eyes and shook his head in quiet awe as he pondered this. "And shoot, kid, I'd be hard-pressed to find someone who loves more completely, with more of his heart, than you do."

"Blaine does," Kurt said softly, without hesitation. "He loves me with his entire heart. I've never once doubted that."

Burt smiled at his son. "You two really are perfect for each other, I guess."

"I like to think so, too," Kurt agreed with a tiny smile, yawning involuntarily.

Burt was just about to suggest that Kurt go back to sleep, since he was obviously very physically and emotionally exhausted, but a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts before he could open his mouth.

"It's three o'clock, Kurt. Time to check your blood pressure," one of the nurses – Burt could not, for the life of him, recall her name – announced rather rudely as she entered the room. They'd been doing this every hour on the hour since Kurt had arrived at the hospital in order to help monitor his circulation, but this time Burt had the suspicion that she'd found it a bit too convenient to interrupt their conversation at this particular point.

Sure enough, as the nurse continued speaking while attaching the cuff to Kurt's upper arm, he soon realized that he'd been right.

"Mr. Hummel, I'd like to remind you that it would be in your best interest not to discuss your son's mental condition with him so openly," she said blithely, manually pumping air into the cuff, speaking as if Kurt weren't even there. "Doing so may cause him to think that this sort of thing is normal, and putting those kinds of ideas into his head is the last thing we need to be doing right now."

Kurt immediately shot his father a frightened look as the nurse ducked her head to check the meter while the cuff deflated, and Burt felt anger bubbling up inside him for the umpteenth time that day. He hated that this woman had made his son so incredibly scared when he had already been through such harrowing abuse just hours before. More than that, he hated the fact that there wasn't a damn thing he could say or do to stand up for Kurt that wouldn't worsen the situation.

"118 over 78," the nurse announced, making a note on a clipboard she'd brought with her and nodding in approval. "Much better than last time. We've definitely been seeing some improvement."

She detached the cuff from Kurt's arm and folded it up as she started toward the door. "I'll be back at four o'clock."

Kurt smiled weakly at his father as soon as the nurse was out of the room. "I'm going to try and forget about what she said for the time being and go back to sleep. I don't know why I'm so tired."

"Good idea," Burt agreed. "Sleep as much as you need. You've had a hell of a day."

Kurt pulled the scratchy, uncomfortable hospital sheets up around himself and turned over on his side. Burt waited a few seconds, then, when he was sure Kurt wasn't going to try and say anything else to him, he slipped out of the room and down the hall to the nurses' station.

The nurse who had just checked Kurt's blood pressure had her back to him, so he cleared his throat to get her attention. "Excuse me, ma'am."

She turned around with a start and relaxed noticeably when she realized who it was. "Oh, it's just you."

Burt was curious as to what she meant by _just him_, but he couldn't worry about that now. He had some tough questions he needed to get off his chest, especially after the comments she'd made in Kurt's hospital room just a few minutes previously. And although he didn't really want to know the answers, he knew that it would be a good idea to know what he was possibly up against.

"I just wanted to get your opinion on this after what you said just now," he said, choosing his words carefully. He thought she might be more likely to respond honestly if he made it seem as if he particularly cared about her opinion. "Do you think Kurt will ever be able to lead a normal life with this condition?"

He could have sworn he threw up a little in his mouth upon using the word _condition_, but he had to play along if he wanted to get the information he sought.

"I highly doubt he would, Mr. Hummel," the nurse told him. "Your son's homosexuality could have serious psychological, political and legal repercussions. I'm not sure there's any hope for him to lead a normal life unless he were to seek some kind of professional help. Otherwise he could be viewed as a threat to national security."

Burt squinted in confusion, unable to believe what he was hearing. "How the hell is a seventeen-year-old kid a threat to national security?"

"Well, there are some who believe that homosexuality is part of a larger plot implemented by the Communists in an attempt to destroy the American family system," she pointed out, as if this were something that everyone knew. "You'll have to prove that neither your son nor anyone else in your family has any ties whatsoever to the Communist Party in order to clear his name there—"

"That'll be easy," Burt interrupted. "I'm not registered with them, never have been and never will be. I don't see what the big deal is there."

The nurse continued as if he hadn't spoken. "…and even if you're successful there, he's still considered to be criminally insane. He'll have a very hard time going to college or finding a job if people know he's a homosexual…and since he was involved with a celebrity like Blaine Anderson, I can assure you that people _will _find out about this, Mr. Hummel."

Burt stared blankly at her, trying to take all this in. It was one thing to hear the horrible things people said about homosexuals on a daily basis; it was another to consider the disturbing fate that may have befallen his son now that the secret was out.

"There's a possibility that colleges and employers might consider accepting him if they see that he's at least been attempting some sort of treatment," the nurse explained. "I strongly recommend seeking conversion therapy."

"Conversion therapy," Burt repeated flatly, not having any idea what she meant for a second – but when it sunk in and he realized just what the nurse was talking about, he felt sick to his stomach.

"The good thing about homosexuality is that it can be cured," the nurse continued, and Burt resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that. "This particular therapy would reform your son into a perfectly normal, functioning heterosexual member of society. It might be the only chance Kurt has at a normal life."

Burt was nauseous even thinking about the words _conversion therapy_, but at the same time, he hated to think that Kurt's life could potentially be destroyed by the events of today. He wanted his son to have as normal a life as possible. Maybe he could find out exactly what these therapy treatments entailed, then somehow convince Kurt to go and fake his way through it just to throw off any more potential suspicion that might be cast on him.

"Thank you," he told her, promptly turning to walk away and trying very hard not to think about anything.

xxx

Burt returned home just in time to watch the CBS evening news. He settled on the couch next to Blaine, who had wandered downstairs at some point during the afternoon and flicked on the television, only to sit there staring blankly at the screen without saying anything. The two made brief small talk for a moment and Burt updated Blaine on Kurt's condition before both of them turned to face the television and give Douglas Edwards their undivided attention. Neither of them would admit it, but both of them were listening to hear if the newscast contained any information about the events that morning. Blaine knew that word would get out eventually, and was practically on the edge of his seat the whole time.

The fifteen-minute broadcast ended with no mention of Blaine Anderson whatsoever. Blaine sat back on the couch and exhaled deeply in a sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't hold your breath, kid," Burt said hesitantly. "Word's gonna get out about this sooner or later, probably over the weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if we see something about it on the next news show."

"I know," Blaine admitted. "I'd almost rather have it be sooner than later. People are gonna find out, so I just want to get it over with, y'know? Plus, my parents will be home at the beginning of next week, and I think I'd rather be here with you and Kurt when people start finding out. I don't want to be trapped at home with my mom and dad with no time to think of a way to explain."

He glanced nervously at Burt out of the corner of his eyes. "Speaking of people finding out…the folks at the hospital obviously had to know about Kurt. What's going to happen to him?"

"I wish I could tell you," Burt admitted with a sigh. "I was talking to this one nurse about it. She said he could be seen as a threat to national security because homosexuality is part of some larger plot by the Commies, or something. I don't know, I don't think we need to worry about that. People aren't as worried about Communism now as they were when that McCarthy guy was running his mouth off a few years back," he pointed out, and Blaine nodded in agreement as he considered this. "From what I understand so far, he might not have a chance to go to college or get a job unless he goes to conversion therapy."

Blaine must have had some kind of disgusted expression on his face, because Burt sighed as he acknowledged this. "I know, I wanted to throw up, too. Depending on what it actually consists of, I might look into it just so I can have Kurt go and fake his way through it, just so it looks like we did something, y'know?"

Blaine bit his bottom lip nervously and glanced at Burt. "You think that'll work?"

"I hope so. Like I said, I need to find out more about the logistics of it before I even think about letting Kurt go through that. It sounds like a load of bullshit to me – he was born that way, and no amount of 'therapy' is going to change that. I don't _want _him to change. But I think the more compliant we are, the easier of a time he's going to have. And if that means sending him to some crazy psychologist who thinks he's Freud reincarnated…I mean, it's not my ideal option, but if Kurt can go a couple of times and just pretend he's actually getting something out of it, then maybe it'll get these doctors off our case and give him a better chance at going to college and all that."

He sighed as he pushed himself up from the couch. "But I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, my number one priority is getting him healed and feeling better – at least physically. You want anything to eat?"

Blaine shook his head. He hadn't eaten anything all day, not since he'd had breakfast with Kurt at his own house that morning – how that suddenly seemed like it had been forever ago – but he still didn't think he could digest anything right now.

"Well, if you change your mind, the kitchen's always open. Feel free to help yourself," Burt told him.

Blaine gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

Burt headed out to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat, and Blaine remained sitting on the couch for a moment before deciding that he really didn't want to watch television anymore. He called to Burt that he was going to be upstairs and returned to Kurt's room, but this time he paused in the doorway before he had an opportunity to curl himself into a ball of hopeless self-pity on the bed. Something struck him in that moment, and for a few seconds he found it impossible to move.

Kurt had lived in this house his whole life, and these four walls encompassed _his _particular space. Blaine soon realized that before today, he'd never been in Kurt's room for more than a few minutes when Kurt himself was absent. Something about being here without him suddenly didn't seem right.

Blaine cautiously stepped into the room, pondering over the remnants of a life interrupted by hatred. There were so many small details, so much that was just so _Kurt_, that he'd missed when he'd been in here earlier, too overwhelmed with sadness to pay much attention to anything. Now, though, there was almost too much to take in at once. Kurt's outfit for sectionals the next day was draped over the back of a chair; on the turntable, the needle still lingered on a record Kurt had been playing (Blaine couldn't help but smile when he noticed that the record was one of his own albums). A hastily scrawled note Kurt had left on the desk listed off various school assignments he needed to complete (English paper due Tuesday, calculus test on Friday).

It almost seemed as if Kurt would walk back in at any moment, having just returned from the restroom or something. But Blaine knew that wasn't the case. Kurt wouldn't be coming back – not tonight, at least – and even when he did, things would never be the same.

xxx

Later that night, as Burt was heading up to bed, he neared the top of the stairs just in time to catch Blaine ducking into the guest room.

"Blaine, you can sleep in Kurt's room, y'know," Burt told him. "Just because he's not here doesn't mean you have to sleep in the guest room."

"I know," Blaine said softly. "It just doesn't feel right in there without him."

Burt nodded understandingly. "All right, just be prepared to spend a lot of time in his room tomorrow. He's going to need you."

"I'll be there for him," Blaine swore. "I promise. I'll be right by his side until he tells me to go away." He chuckled a little bit.

"Somehow I don't think that'll happen," Burt told him. "I'll be leaving for the hospital pretty early, so I don't think I'll see you before I head out. It'll all depend on how he's doing, but I'll try and get him home as soon as possible."

Blaine thanked him, the two bid each other goodnight, and he headed into the unfamiliar guest bedroom knowing full well that he wasn't going to get any sleep.

xxx

When Burt arrived at Kurt's hospital room the next morning, his son was already wide awake and sitting up in bed with his best approximation of a smile spread across his face.

"I get to see him today," Kurt said happily before Burt could even open his mouth to greet him.

Burt rolled his eyes in mock exasperation but smiled. "'Hey, Dad, nice to see you!'" he teased, stepping up beside the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better," Kurt told him. "They don't see any signs of head trauma, which is good, but the rest of me still hurts. And my blood pressure's pretty much back to normal, so they said I should be good to go today but I should try and rest as much as possible due to all the bruising."

"I think that's a good idea," Burt agreed. "Blaine's going to be right there with you. He said he'd stay with you until you tell him to go away."

Kurt smirked and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe he thinks that's actually going to happen."

"That's what I told him," Burt said. "All right, I'm going to go find someone and see what I can do about getting you out of here, you dig?"

"Okay," Kurt said, finding that it was getting easier and easier to smile with each passing second now that he knew he was closer than ever to seeing Blaine.

He lay back down and pulled the stiff hospital sheets up around him, closing his eyes and smiling again as he imagined himself in his boy's arms. Part of him knew that he should be worried about what was going to happen to the two of them, but he'd just spent what had possibly been the worst 24 hours of his life without Blaine. After everything he'd been through the previous day, he didn't want to dwell on the possibility of anything else bad that could possibly happen.

He wasn't thinking about conversion therapy, or being labeled a Communist, or even death, or any of the other worst possible outcomes that he and Blaine could face. He could think only of the warm, affectionate love that would be in Blaine's eyes when they saw each other again, and that was enough to drown out all thoughts of anything else.

xxx

Blaine woke up early and headed downstairs to get something to eat after a futile attempt to go back to sleep. It was much easier to digest food today, now that he knew he was just a few hours away from seeing Kurt again. He had no idea what to expect, but he knew that seeing Kurt for himself would do wonders to put his mind at ease.

He had just finished washing his dishes and was putting them back in the correct drawers and cabinets when he heard the sound of the front door opening. He froze in place for a second, feeling his heart skip a couple beats, and absently abandoned his clean plate on the kitchen counter as he paced out toward the door just in time to see Burt helping an extremely fragile-looking Kurt inside.

Kurt certainly didn't look as if he had much to smile about. A black eye still encompassed a good portion of his face; a large bandage was taped across the center of his face to hold his broken nose together. His bottom lip was swollen, and even when he opened his mouth the tiniest bit, Blaine could still see the false replacement tooth he'd been given that didn't quite fit in with the rest of his teeth. But none of that seemed to matter, because the second Kurt lay eyes on Blaine, an enormous smile instantly broke across his damaged face.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered, stepping forward to take him in his arms the second he was safely in the house. It seemed hard to believe that just a day ago, the last time Blaine had seen him, Kurt had been brutally tied to a flagpole, beaten and left on display for all to see. Without hesitation, Kurt stepped into his embrace and Blaine protectively curled his arms around him as gently as possible so as not to cause him pain. The moment he could feel Kurt safe in his arms again was more liberating than he ever could have imagined, and he closed his eyes as he felt his apprehensions melting away.

"I won't let anything else hurt you," Blaine whispered, kissing the side of his face as gently as he possibly could.

Kurt trembled closer to him upon feeling the warm, familiar press of Blaine's lips against his skin. "Please stay with me. Please don't leave me."

Blaine smiled tenderly and pulled back so he could look into Kurt's eyes. "You say that as if I ever could."

A few feet away, Burt awkwardly cleared his throat. "I know you two are glad to see each other, and I hate to ruin the moment, but you need to rest, Kurt. Blaine, can you help him get up to his room?"

Blaine was more than happy to do just that. When they made it upstairs to the bedroom, Blaine closed the door behind them and was just about to help Kurt get himself situated under the covers when he realized something.

"Do you want to get changed?" he asked, nodding at Kurt's button-down shirt and khakis. "That doesn't look too comfortable to wear when you have to lie in bed all day."

"I probably should," Kurt agreed. "My dad forgot to bring a change of clothes this morning, so the hospital gave me these."

Blaine turned to start looking through drawers for something more comfortable. "You get in bed. I'll find something."

Kurt did as he was told, but not without calling over to Blaine to inform him that his pajama bottoms were in the drawer below the one in which Blaine was currently looking. Blaine grabbed a pair of flannel pajama pants out of the drawer Kurt had indicated and took it, along with a t-shirt he'd already found, over to Kurt on the bed.

Kurt took the clothes with a small but appreciative smile. His face was so bruised and discolored that Blaine couldn't tell for sure, but it almost looked like he was blushing.

"Um…I can do it myself," he said softly. "It's pretty hideous. I don't want you to see."

Blaine wanted to tell him that there was no way he'd ever be hideous, that he was still beautiful even when he was completely broken. But he didn't say anything, opting instead to respect what Kurt had asked and not pressure him into letting Blaine see the extent of the damage if he wasn't ready yet. He sat on the opposite side of the bed with his back to Kurt, listening to the sound of fabric being pulled over skin and Kurt occasionally wincing when even the slightest movement caused pain to shoot through his body.

Kurt could feel tears of hot anger welling up in his eyes as he changed as quickly as possible. He wasn't sure if he was angry at himself, or at the guys who had done this to him, or at the situation in general – or maybe all three. He'd never been ashamed or afraid to let Blaine see his body before, so why should this time be any different? Why would Blaine think any different of him just because of a few bruises?

"Okay," he heard himself say when he was finished changing, tears choking his whisper.

Blaine immediately moved further up the bed as Kurt carefully crawled under the covers. He stayed on top of the comforter but lay right at Kurt's side, propping himself up on his elbow as he ran the fingers of his free hand softly through Kurt's hair. Kurt sighed and closed his eyes, and Blaine could tell that it was the first time he'd felt truly at peace since the incident the previous morning.

"This is what I've been waiting for this whole time," he said softly, turning to curl himself closer into Blaine. "Somehow I knew that being with you would make me feel better than anything they did at the hospital."

Blaine smiled as his fingers skimmed lightly over Kurt's forehead, brushing a stray strand of hair out of the way. "I'm just so relieved now that I finally get to see you. Waiting all day yesterday almost killed me. Your dad kept letting me know how you were doing, but it wasn't the same as seeing you for myself."

Kurt smiled up at him. "Y'know what would make me feel even better?"

"What's that?" Blaine asked in response.

"Kiss me," Kurt requested simply. "I don't believe you've done that since yesterday morning, and that wasn't under the best of circumstances."

As much as Blaine wanted to say yes – because kissing Kurt was an opportunity that should never, ever be passed up – he was still hesitant. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Your lips look pretty swollen…I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sure," Kurt assured him. "Just please be gentle."

Blaine made sure to do just that as he ducked his head and placed the softest of kisses on Kurt's lips. He kissed him for a lingering second before pulling back just slightly to look into Kurt's eyes and gauge his reaction. He didn't need to look any further than Kurt's eyes to know that he was smiling, so he couldn't help but kiss him again, this time sweeter and longer but just as soft.

"And by the way," Blaine murmured, keeping his face close to Kurt's even after their lips broke free, "I still think you're the most beautiful boy in the world."

Kurt made a face. "Oh, you don't have to say that. Not when I look like this."

"Even like this," Blaine assured him. "You're still perfect to me."

Kurt closed his eyes. "I hate this," he whispered, and Blaine flinched at his harsh words but didn't say anything. "I hate that I look like this because of what they did to me. I hate that I'm so ashamed of how I look that I can't even stand the thought of letting you see. And I hate myself for being so insecure about it, because that's exactly what they would have wanted."

Blaine reached up just in time to catch a tear that had started to slip out of the corner of Kurt's eye. He kept his hand on his face, letting his fingers gently caress the damaged skin and speaking with pure affection choked up in his voice.

"Kurt, love, you have _nothing _to be ashamed of," he whispered. "I don't want you to hate yourself. It breaks my heart to hear you say those things about yourself. You know I'll always love you no matter what. You _know _that."

Kurt's responding smile was so soft, so tiny that Blaine wondered if he'd imagined it, and his eyes were still shiny with tears. "Even if something happens to you?"

Blaine had to laugh a little bit at that. "Do you honestly think I give a damn right now if anything happens to me?" he asked in response as his fingers absently caressed Kurt's face. "My main priority right now is making sure you're okay. Once you start to heal – physically, at least – then we'll face whatever comes our way together."

Kurt let his eyes fall closed. "Okay," he whispered.

He reached up with one hand; Blaine immediately caught on to what he wanted and laced his fingers into the spaces between Kurt's. The gesture was so innocent but yet so intimate at the same time, and the tenderness with which Blaine held his hand was enough to make the tears fall that had been welling up in Kurt's eyes. At this point, he reasoned he would always be crying for one reason or another for the rest of his life – the tears certainly didn't seem intent on stopping anytime soon.

"I love you," Kurt said softly after a moment, this time with a genuine smile.

Blaine was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, in awe yet again of the way those three simple words from Kurt could touch his heart in unimaginable ways. He closed his eyes and clasped his other hand over Kurt's, holding it gently between both of his own, then carefully brought Kurt's hand closer to him and held it over his heart.

"I love you _so _much, Kurt," he whispered fiercely, his voice breaking with tears.

Kurt kept his hand over Blaine's heart for a long time, feeling it beat against his palm. Never for a second had he ever doubted Blaine's love for him, but suddenly it seemed more poignant than ever. He could feel more and more love with every single beat of Blaine's heart, and he knew that his own love for Blaine was only growing stronger with each heartbeat as well.

He wasn't thinking about the fact that every human being only has a finite number of heartbeats, and that eventually each individual runs out. And he certainly didn't even dare to consider that he would learn that firsthand, the hard way, very soon.

xxx

Burt had been laying low for most of the day, trying to stay out of Kurt and Blaine's way since he knew they needed each other. But when he was getting ready to fix himself something to eat around dinnertime, he decided to head up and see if either of the boys would like anything. Kurt, he knew, hadn't eaten anything since breakfast at the hospital, and he wasn't even sure about Blaine.

He knocked quietly on Kurt's bedroom door and was answered with a quiet, muffled "Come on in," from Blaine. Upon opening the door, Burt immediately saw what had caused Blaine to speak so quietly – Kurt was fast asleep in Blaine's arms, his head on the other boy's chest. Blaine was gently stroking his hair, occasionally pressing soft kisses to the injured skin of his face. It was clear that he hadn't even looked up when Burt had knocked at the door, because he was looking at Kurt's sleeping face with so much love in his eyes that it seemed it would have been impossible for him to look away.

Burt found himself awkwardly standing in the doorway for a second, not sure what to do. He needed Kurt to wake up so he could eat, but at the same time, he felt as if he had intruded on such a simple, intimate moment. Blaine was holding Kurt with so much love that even looking at the two of them made Burt want to cry.

He cleared his throat and finally managed to speak. "Are you hungry? I hate to ask you to wake him up, but he needs to get something to eat."

"I probably should wake him up," Blaine agreed in a murmur without taking his eyes off Kurt. "He's been sleeping a lot and he hasn't eaten all day."

"Well, give it your best shot," Burt told him. "I'll be downstairs."

He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him, and Blaine decided that it was probably a good idea to try and get Kurt up and moving – well, at least get him up; Blaine wasn't too sure about the moving part. He gave Kurt one more kiss on the forehead and then ducked his face down to kiss his lips, trying to be as gentle as possible but still using just enough pressure that would get him to wake up.

Kurt's eyes flew open at the unexpected sensation, but when he realized what was happening, he smiled against Blaine's lips and kissed him back.

"Just like a fairy tale," Kurt sighed happily when they broke apart. "Woken up with a sweet kiss from my handsome prince."

"My options were limited," Blaine admitted. "_My _handsome prince has been sleeping the day away, so I had to think of some way to get him to wake up as gently as possible."

He moved his face closer so that he could kiss Kurt again, but Kurt spoke up before Blaine could lock their lips together. "Yeah, why _did _you wake me up, anyway?"

His teasing smirk was so adorable that Blaine couldn't help but smile as he responded. "Your dad just came upstairs and said you needed to get something to eat."

Kurt frowned as he considered this. "Oh, god, you're right," he murmured, tossing the covers aside. "I didn't even realize how hungry I was until you mentioned that."

He made to stand up from the bed, then froze in place and turned to look at Blaine. "Wait, am I allowed to get up and go downstairs, or is he going to bring me something? I'd kind of like to get up, not going to lie."

Blaine hopped out of bed and headed for the door. "I'll go check. You stay here for now."

He left the door open a crack and headed down to the kitchen, where he caught the scent of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Burt had his back to Blaine as he entered the kitchen, so Blaine immediately spoke up so that Burt would know he was there.

"Hey, Kurt said he's pretty hungry…should I try and help him get downstairs or should…?"

He abruptly cut himself off when Burt turned around, and it was immediately clear to Blaine that he'd been crying. Before he could say or do anything else, Burt had wrapped him in a hug so tight that Blaine almost couldn't breathe.

"Thank you for loving my son," Burt mumbled, attempting to hide the tears that still choked his voice.

"It's an honor and a privilege to do so," Blaine said humbly. "Kurt is…he's just…," he trailed off bashfully, shaking his head and smiling as he tried to think of the right words.

"He _is _love," Blaine finally declared, not even caring if it sounded incredibly cheesy. "I hear the word 'love,' and my mind immediately jumps to Kurt. He is so beyond perfect."

"I couldn't be happier that he has a guy like you," Burt told him. "If it were legal for the two of you to get married, I'd be proud to call you my son-in-law."

Blaine felt a huge, involuntary smile spreading across his face at the mere thought of marrying Kurt. The thought alone made him so happy that he didn't even care how long it might take for that to happen.

"I'll tell you, Burt, I'm gonna marry him the second it's legal," Blaine promised, eyes shining with pure bliss as he considered what that would be like. "And even if it never _is _legal in my lifetime, I still have every intention of spending the rest of my life with him either way."

"Make sure you tell him that," Burt suggested. "Y'know, Kurt doesn't have a whole lot he can count on right now. Might be nice for him to know that at least _something _in his life will stay constant."

He pulled open the silverware drawer beside him and took out a spoon, using it to stir the pile of crumbled Saltines on top of his tomato soup into the soup itself. "You wanna go tell him to get his butt down here? If he wants some of this soup, he'll have to come down before it gets cold."

"Got it," Blaine said as he turned toward the stairs. He paused in his tracks, then turned right back around to look at Burt again. "And thanks."

Burt shrugged as he began to eat. "Thank _you_."

Blaine smiled as he headed back up the stairs to help Kurt get up and moving. It really wasn't so hard to love Kurt, he thought. Kurt was so wonderful, so beautiful, so easy to love.

What a shame, Blaine thought, that not everyone could see that about him.

xxx

The headline was hidden below the fold on the front page of the Sunday edition of the _New York Times_, but its bold black letters jumped out at William Anderson and screamed the truth he'd suspected all along.

He could already feel his face burning with rage as he began to read about what had happened to Kurt Hummel on Friday morning and how Blaine Anderson had acted in response.

"Lisa!" he shouted, his voice booming through the Sunday-morning calm of the spacious penthouse apartment.

His wife ducked out of the kitchen, already impeccably dressed and ready for the day, steaming mug of coffee in hand. "For God's sakes, William, I'm right here. What is going on?"

Without saying a word, William threw the paper at Lisa, who spilled a bit of her coffee as she fumbled to catch it one-handed.

"Bottom of the front page," William muttered as Lisa began frantically looking for whatever he'd intended for her to see.

Lisa found it within a matter of seconds. William was about to look up to check her reaction, but he didn't even need to do so. The terrified scream that escaped his wife's throat was loud enough to wake the dead.

xxx

For the second time in about 12 hours, Burt found himself in front of Kurt's closed bedroom door. This time, though, he almost couldn't bring himself to knock.

He was clutching the newspaper so tightly that he knew there would be ink left on his fingers when he finally let go of it. Truth be told, he rather would have stood there holding it for the rest of his life than gone into the room to show Kurt and Blaine what was on the front page. He didn't want to do it – there was no telling how quickly their worlds would turn upside down from here – but he knew he had to. They deserved to know, and they deserved to know as soon as possible so they could decide together how they wanted to deal with this situation.

He didn't bother to knock, thinking that the boys were probably asleep and wouldn't hear. Upon opening the door as quietly as possible, he realized he was right. They were lying in almost exactly the same position they'd been in the night before, except this time Blaine was asleep, too.

Burt took another look at the newspaper, hoping against hope that what he'd seen before was just some kind of hallucination. Unfortunately, there it was, plain as day in the bottom right corner of the front page. His own son's senior picture from school was right next to a stock photo of Blaine, directly below a headline that screamed the truth.

_BLAINE ANDERSON'S HOMOSEXUAL SCANDAL _

He tore his eyes away from the newspaper and looked again at his son and Blaine sleeping peacefully in each other's arms. Even in sleep, the two of them looked so, so in love. Burt failed to see what was so scandalous about that.

Without wasting another second thinking about it, he stepped forward and gently shook Kurt awake. "Wake up, kid. I need to show you two something."

Kurt drowsily sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?"

Before Burt could answer, Kurt turned and prodded at Blaine to get him to open his eyes. "Hey, wake up. My dad needs to show us something."

It took a few seconds, but Blaine eventually managed to pull himself up into a sitting position even as he fought to keep his eyes open. Burt didn't miss the way he kept one arm draped over Kurt's shoulder, holding him close even when he was clearly exhausted.

Kurt eyeballed the newspaper in his father's hand as Blaine got himself situated. "You couldn't wait until we were awake to have us read the _Times_?"

Burt understood that Kurt was upset that he'd woken them up, but he didn't have time to dispute that now. Without saying a word, he handed his son the newspaper with the bottom of the front page facing up, so that the first things the two of them would see were their own faces below the headline that called them out.

Kurt's eyes went wide as he realized just what he was looking at: the headline that declared their relationship to be some kind of scandal, the text of the story giving the dirty details of what had gone down at McKinley High Friday morning, the pictures of himself and Blaine, the caption that identified him as _Kurt Hummel, a senior at McKinley High School and Blaine Anderson's alleged homosexual lover_.

A blank expression on his face, Kurt handed the paper back to Blaine so that he could get a better look at it. He continued staring off into space as Blaine read, moving only to reach up and grab the other boy's hand for reassurance. Burt could tell his son was trying to remain strong and stoic for Blaine while he read, but emotion overwhelmed him after a few seconds and he closed his eyes as he squeezed Blaine's hand with trembling fingers.

Blaine certainly needed the extra reassurance. He instinctively gripped Kurt's hand even tighter, holding onto it like a lifeline as he plummeted to reality.

This was it. People knew. There was no telling what would happen to the two of them now.

"What do we do?" he whispered brokenly, not sure if he was asking Kurt or Burt or himself.

Kurt shook his head. "I don't know," he murmured, his voice much lower than usual as he attempted to swallow back his tears.

He turned to look at Blaine, who could practically feel his heart shatter into pieces when he saw the fear that haunted Kurt's beautiful eyes. "I'm scared."

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and pulled him as close as physically possible.

"Me too," he whispered, hating himself for knowing that there was nothing he could do to protect Kurt or ease his fears.

Burt was starting to think that the two of them had forgotten he was still there, but suddenly Kurt looked up at him with tears shining in his eyes, making no move to pull free from Blaine's arms. "Dad, what do you think we should do?"

"That depends," Burt told him. "Blaine, when are your parents supposed to be home?"

"Today's Sunday?" Blaine asked in response, and Burt nodded so he continued. "Not until tomorrow. They were supposed to stay in New York all weekend." He paused for a moment to let his emotions catch up with him; Kurt leaned in and kissed the side of his face to help him stay calm. "But if they see this, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to come home early. The phone's probably ringing off the hook at my house right now, actually."

"Whatever you want to do is up to you," Burt said as calmly as possible. "Personally, I think it would be a better idea for you to stay here as long as possible, but if you want to go back to your place, I can give you a ride."

Blaine shook his head. "No, I can't stay here. My parents know this address. I don't…I don't want to think about what might happen if they come here…I'd rather be at home and face them by myself than risk anything happening to you two."

Kurt immediately grabbed his hand again. "If you go back to your house, I'll come with you. We can deal with them together."

Blaine gave him a tender, appreciative smile but shook his head again. "Kurt, that's so sweet, but I can't ask you to do that. You need to stay here and rest. And if anything happens to you, I…I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself."

Burt's ears perked up when he noticed specifically what Blaine had been saying. "What do you mean by 'if anything _happens_' to him? Or 'what might _happen_' to us if your parents came here?"

Blaine swallowed the lump of nerves in his throat before he spoke.

"My father has been known to be physically aggressive," he said. "He beat me pretty bad the first time I accidentally admitted to liking boys when I was about six or seven. I don't think he would go quite that far again, and I'm old enough to defend myself even if he does, but I just don't want to take any chances."

"If that's what you decide, then I'm coming back to your place with you," Burt told him. "I'm not going to let you stay by yourself and have to deal with the possibility of him getting physically violent."

"I'm coming, too," Kurt chimed in.

"Absolutely not," Burt said, shaking his head. "I get that you want to be there for Blaine, but you're extremely vulnerable right now and I don't want you getting hurt even more."

"A few more bruises won't hurt me," Kurt countered defiantly. "I'm going."

Blaine spoke up all of a sudden. "No, Kurt, your dad's right. I love that you want to be there with me, but I don't want you to get hurt again."

He looked up at Burt as he continued. "And I appreciate your offer, but I want you to stay here and be with Kurt."

Burt looked uneasy. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Blaine said confidently, pulling Kurt closer against him. "I'm not going to let him hurt me."

It was silent for a moment as Blaine and Kurt held each other through their fear, oblivious to the way Burt was looking at them and trying to figure out how in the hell anyone could call the love between them "unnatural" or "immoral" or "wrong." Everything was perfectly still for a second before Burt spoke up.

"Well, Blaine, I guess you should start getting ready to go. I think the sooner we get you back to your place, the better. There's no telling what time your folks will be back."

"Okay," Blaine whispered, nodding slightly. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Burt took the newspaper back so that they wouldn't have to look at it and left the room, closing the door behind him so the boys could have privacy in their last few minutes alone together.

The second the door was closed and they knew they were alone, Kurt looked at Blaine for a moment without saying a word. Time seemed to stop for a few fleeting seconds, and before Blaine could make sense of what was happening, Kurt's hands were on either side of his face and he was being kissed with more emotion, more passion than ever before.

He closed his eyes and kissed Kurt back, losing himself in every sensation as Kurt pulled him closer and let his lips caress Blaine's with perfect tenderness. When Blaine broke away to take a breath and opened his eyes, he realized that he'd somehow ended up horizontal, lying on his back with Kurt hovering over him.

"Blaine, I don't know what's going to happen to us after this," Kurt whispered, his voice breaking with tears. "I want to make love to you."

"Of course," Blaine said breathlessly without even pausing to think. "Please, Kurt. I want you."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kurt was kissing him again, letting his tongue slip into Blaine's mouth this time as he pushed up the fabric of Blaine's shirt and ran his hands over his chest. Before he knew it, his shirt was gone; a moment later, so were his pants. Blaine could tell that as much as Kurt wanted to take this slow and savor every sensation, they didn't have much time. Blaine tried not to think about how this might be the last time they would make love together for God-only-knew how long, instead choosing to focus on here and now and _Kurt_.

Kurt was stroking Blaine the rest of the way to hardness as he kissed and gently bit at the side of his neck. Blaine closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Kurt, slipping his hands under the waistband of his pants and giving his ass a firm but gentle squeeze. If he closed his eyes, it almost felt like there was nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever about this encounter – Kurt hadn't been beaten into near oblivion just days before, Blaine wasn't about to go home and face his parents' wrath when they inevitably found out what had happened, and their secret certainly hadn't been revealed to the whole country on the front page of the newspaper.

No, none of that was true – not now. All they had was each other, and that was all that mattered.

Kurt moved off of Blaine for a second so he could get his own pants out of the way, then straddled Blaine's waist again wearing nothing but the t-shirt that he'd slept in. He bent to kiss him again, his bare erection shifting against Blaine's, and Blaine couldn't help thrusting his hips up into Kurt's to increase the friction as they kissed. He was seconds away from losing himself completely in Kurt when suddenly the other boy broke away and sat up straight, biting his lip nervously as his beautiful eyes darted around the room, seemingly looking at everything but Blaine.

"What is it?" Blaine asked softly, running one of his hands up and down Kurt's upper thigh to soothe him. "Kurt?"

Kurt closed his eyes for a second but looked right at Blaine as he opened them again. He had no clue when they were going to have a chance to do this again, and he was going to do it right – not hiding anything, not holding anything back. He swallowed his shame and gripped the bottom of his t-shirt with trembling fingers, keeping his eyes locked with Blaine's as he lifted the shirt up and off over his head.

He wasn't sure how Blaine was going to react, and that was what scared him most of all. He watched Blaine's face as those warm hazel eyes swept over his chest in all its bruised and broken glory. Almost immediately he could see tears shining in Blaine's eyes, and he couldn't even imagine how much it was hurting Blaine to see him like this.

Blaine tentatively reached up and touched Kurt's chest, lightly running his fingers over the perfectly sculpted musculature that lay beneath the damaged pale skin. For Kurt's sake, he was trying not to cry, but it was difficult to hold back tears when looking at the boy he loved in such a state of physical ruin. Finn and those guys were monsters for doing this to him. Blaine had never hated anyone in his life, but in that moment there was no doubt in his mind that he hated those vile lowlifes with every fiber of his being.

"I can put my shirt back on if you want," Kurt murmured brokenly. "I just didn't want to hide anything anymore."

Blaine shook his head and reached up to press his index finger against Kurt's lips to hush him. He continued caressing Kurt's chest with the fingers of his free hand as he looked into his eyes and smiled through his tears as he spoke.

"Yep," he said, nodding a little bit. "You're still my beautiful boy." His words came out in a whisper, but there was no doubt in Kurt's mind that he meant it.

Kurt closed his eyes, reveling in Blaine's words and the sensation of his fingers as they traced over his chest so tenderly and so lightly that for a delirious moment, he almost felt as if his bruises could be healed by Blaine's touch alone.

Not long after that, they came together, Kurt fitting inside Blaine as easily as he always had. They moved together fluidly, locking their lips together in a kiss at one point, their mouths moving in the same rhythm as the lower halves of their bodies. At one point, Blaine felt warm tears falling onto his face and mingling with his own, and he wondered if Kurt was thinking that this could be the last time, too.

As he considered this, he broke the kiss just enough so that he could look into Kurt's eyes as he reminded him yet again what Kurt had always known to be true.

"I love you, Kurt." They were so close that Kurt could faintly feel the shape of the words on Blaine's lips as he spoke.

He felt a tearful smile breaking across his face as he cradled Blaine's face in his hand. "I love you, Blaine."

For the first time, both of them realized that they were completely still – Kurt had come to a standstill inside Blaine, who in turn had stopped rolling his hips up into Kurt's for the moment. It was almost as if the world had stopped turning as they looked into each other's eyes, and both of them were silently wishing that they could stop time and remain together, just like that, for the rest of their lives.

They shared a rueful smile as they came back to reality, and Kurt promptly resumed his steady rhythm thrusting in and out of Blaine as he leaned down to kiss him again. Not long after that, each of them pulled the other as close to him as possible as they rode through their climaxes together.

Before he pulled out of Blaine, Kurt took a second to look into his eyes as they attempted to catch their breath. He knew he'd never forget the warm love that sparkled in Blaine's hazel eyes in that moment for as long as he lived. After a few perfect, peaceful seconds, he closed the distance between them and kissed Blaine softly as he pulled out.

"Forever," Blaine murmured, keeping his face close to Kurt's as he spoke. "No matter what happens. I promise."

Kurt nodded, unable to keep a smile off his face at Blaine's words.

"Forever," he agreed in a broken whisper.

Before either of them could say or do anything else, there was a knock at the door that effectively shattered the romance. Kurt immediately turned to pull the blankets up over the two of them when he heard his father's voice.

"Guys, I hate to ruin the moment, but is Blaine ready to go? We don't have a whole lot of time."

"Just a minute!" Blaine called towards the door as he hopped out of bed and began pulling his clothes on. A second later, Kurt did the same. Less than a minute later, looking rather disheveled, they breathlessly pulled open the bedroom door.

"Do you want me to come with you, or should I stay here?" Kurt mumbled, unable to look his father in the eye.

"Stay here and rest. That's what you need to be doing, anyway, plus I don't want to worry about what might happen if you happen to be at Blaine's house, on their property, when his parents get home," Burt told him.

"Okay," Kurt agreed quietly, nodding a little bit. "Um…let me at least walk him to the door."

They linked their hands together as they walked downstairs. Neither of them had any idea what was in store for them after this, and they would have been perfectly fine with not finding out. But they knew they should have expected this – there was always the chance that their secret would get out, but neither expected that it would be revealed so publicly, so soon.

When they got downstairs, Burt headed out to start the car so that the boys could say their last goodbyes in private. As soon as they were alone once again, Blaine moved into Kurt's arms and held him as close as possible; both of them remained perfectly still in the embrace, not saying a word. Kurt closed his eyes and tried to memorize exactly how Blaine's body felt pressed right against his and how safe and protected he felt in Blaine's arms.

"I feel like I should be used to saying goodbye to you by now," he said softly after a long silence. "There was the time right after I met you when you left town to finish your tour…the time you left McKinley to start going to school at Dalton…"

He pulled back slightly as he trailed off and turned his face away. As soon as Blaine realized Kurt was crying, he immediately cradled the other boy's face in his hands and began gently brushing his tears off of his soft cheeks.

"And even though I thought it was hard to say goodbye all those times before, it's never been this bad," Kurt continued through his tears after a few seconds. "Because this time I don't know what's coming next."

Blaine instantly pulled him closer the second those words had left his mouth, unable to stand the fear that shone as tears in Kurt's beautiful eyes and know that there was nothing he could do to comfort him. He had just as much idea as Kurt did about what was in store for them – none whatsoever – and he didn't think he'd ever been so scared in his life. He had absolutely no idea what to say, because no words could properly justify how he was feeling.

Thankfully, he didn't have to say anything. After taking a few seconds to cry into Blaine's shoulder, Kurt collected himself just enough to pull back and look him in the eyes as he continued.

"But…no matter what happens to us next," he said slowly, his voice stricken with more emotion than Blaine had ever heard before, "I will always love you. And I'll alwa

consider myself the luckiest man alive to be loved by you in return. That's a promise."

Blaine felt his face break into a smile even beneath the tears that he realized were now falling down his own face. "I couldn't have said that better myself."

Their lips collided in a kiss just then, moving softly and slowly together as they conveyed the love that neither could adequately seem to put into words. It was very possible that they could have stayed there kissing all day, neither of them having the heart to break away or move, but eventually they found they had to do so – not because they wanted to, but because they were both sobbing so intensely that they could no longer hold the kiss.

When they broke apart, Blaine sniffed back another sob before reluctantly pulling back from Kurt's embrace a bit. "I, um…I should go. I don't want to keep your dad waiting…"

Kurt nodded but made no move to let go of him. "Okay."

"I'll try to call you," Blaine told him, smiling before he continued. "And I love you. Never forget that I love you."

Kurt giggled a little bit. He was so adorable that Blaine could practically feel his heart melting from the love he felt.

"You say that as if I could ever forget," Kurt said, returning his smile. "I love you, too."

They shared one last kiss, this one shorter than the last but filled with just as much passion. When they broke away this time, they shared a lingering gaze for a second before Blaine slipped away and turned to open the door.

"Forever," he promised Kurt one more time, turning over his shoulder as he stepped out onto the front porch.

"Forever," Kurt repeated, reaching out to grab his hand and hold it for a second.

He didn't move from the doorway as Blaine made his way to where Burt's car was waiting in the driveway. As Blaine slid into the passenger seat, he kept his eyes locked with Kurt's, not breaking their gaze even when Burt began backing the car the rest of the way out of the driveway. Kurt didn't even think about moving from the doorway and heading back inside until the car had turned at the end of the street and he could no longer see it.

Just like that, his boy was gone.

xxx

Lisa Anderson slammed the telephone receiver down for the fifth time that morning and turned exasperatedly to her husband as he was pulling on his coat. "There's still nothing."

"I don't know where he could possibly be," William grumbled. "Unless he's with that Kurt…"

Lisa froze in place. "That has to be where he's at."

William reached back into the closet, grabbed his wife's coat and flung it at her. "Then let's go! We need to get to the airport so I can teach that boy a lesson."

"Which boy?" Lisa asked as she pulled her jacket on. "Blaine or Kurt?"

William stopped to consider this for a moment, but his eventual answer was spoken with terrifying clarity.

"Both."

xxx

"It's this driveway, on the right," Blaine indicated to Burt, who promptly turned the car. "Then just keep heading straight down."

In his nearly five decades of life, Burt had never seen anything like the Anderson family's grand, imposing home. As beautifully ornate as it was, it was too cold and intimidating for Burt's liking. Suddenly he had the urge to turn the car around right there in the driveway and take Blaine back to his and Kurt's house. Leaving him here in this uninviting house all by himself suddenly seemed like the worst thing Burt could possibly do.

Even after Burt finally made it to the top of the excruciatingly long driveway, Blaine didn't make any move to get out right away. Instead, he turned to Burt and began to speak, sounding almost nervous but completely sincere.

"Um…so Kurt and I don't know what's going to happen to us after all this," he admitted. "So just in case I don't get another chance to say this…thank you for being so open and accepting to the love that he and I share. It means so much to know that you're on our side…I can't imagine what he and I would have done if it wasn't for you."

"You're welcome," Burt told him sincerely. "Y'know, I told Kurt right when you two first got together than anyone who can make him this happy must be pretty special, and I still stand by that. In all honesty he shouldn't have had any reason to be happy this weekend after everything that happened, and I still caught him smiling a few times all because of you."

Blaine felt his face turning warm with a blush. "As long as he's happy, that's all that matters to me. I can die happy knowing that I've had the privilege of loving him."

As much as he didn't want to, he knew he had to leave, so he turned and opened the door but didn't step out of the car just yet. "I should go. I know you need to get back home and make sure Kurt's doing okay."

"I'll be sure to do that," Burt assured Blaine as he stepped out of the car. "Thank you for always being there for him. Not just this weekend, but all the time."

"You can always count on me for that," Blaine told him with a tiny smile. "Well…hopefully I'll see you soon, but if not, take care."

"You too," Burt said. "And don't forget that you're always welcome at our place if you ever need somewhere to go."

"Thank you," Blaine told him with a genuine smile. "That means more than I can tell you."

They said their goodbyes and Blaine headed slowly up the front steps of his house, feeling almost like a condemned man walking to the electric chair. He numbly let himself inside, and as relieved as he was to notice that his parents weren't home yet, at the same time, he'd never felt more alone in his life.

He somehow ended up in his bedroom, though he couldn't remember going upstairs. He sat down at his desk and stared blankly at the mess of papers that littered the top of it. His mind was racing in a million different directions at once, and he had no idea where any of it was going. There was no telling what would happen to him once his parents got home, but what scared him even more was not knowing what would happen to Kurt now that their secret was out.

Blaine was used to dealing with the press, and he knew that now that the world knew their secret, he was undoubtedly going to be asked an overwhelming number of questions pertaining to what had happened. He thought that while he was waiting for whatever doom might befall him upon his parents' return, he could at least start preparing some kind of official statement in which he could explain himself to the press and the general public. As soon as the idea found its way into his head, he immediately grabbed a blank sheet of paper and a pen and began to write.

_I am what they call a homosexual. However, I prefer not to use that term because of the negative connotations it carries. I am simply a boy who likes boys, and I fail to recall a time in my life in which I didn't. _

He continued writing, eventually filling up that page and having to move onto another. The words flowed freely from his mind and his heart through the ink of the pen onto the page. He wrote about his wishes for acceptance of all kinds of love and how he wanted nothing more than for everyone else like him to be able to express their love openly and freely. He wrote about how he was not a pedophile, or a serial killer, or a Communist, or any of the other horrible things that the ridiculous public service announcements on television claimed that homosexual men were. But mostly he wrote about Kurt, and how unbelievably lucky Blaine was to be loved by him.

When he was finished, he calmly stacked the pages up neatly and set them in the corner of his desk for later. Then he opened his checkbook and wrote a check for one thousand dollars, paid to the order of Mr. Burt Hummel.

xxx

"His bedroom light's on," Lisa Anderson observed as she and her husband got out of the car. "I don't understand why he wasn't answering my calls."

"It doesn't matter," William huffed angrily as he slammed his door behind him and marched up the front steps. "He can't avoid us for too long."

Lisa scurried up the steps behind her husband as quickly as she could, despite the fact that her fashionable black high heels made it particularly difficult to move fast. Suddenly she almost couldn't stand the thought of her husband going through that door, and an inexplicable onset of dread overwhelmed her.

The memory struck her like lightning, rendering her motionless for a second. Her mind was ten years in the past, reliving a memory she would rather forget.

_She was sitting at the dinner table with a plate of barely touched food in front of her. From out in the garage, she could hear her six-year-old son's terrified screams as he begged her to come to his rescue._

"Mommy, help me! Please! Mommy!"

Before she had a chance to do anything, she heard the crack of the belt against Blaine's fragile young skin once again, followed by her husband's terrifying bellow of anger.

"What, so now you're gonna scream for your mommy and cry?" There was another whip, and Lisa cringed. "You're never gonna be a real man if you cry, and especially not if you like boys. Now I'm not gonna stop hitting you until you shut your fucking mouth and do as I say, you got that?"

There was silence, followed by another sob that it sounded like Blaine was trying to suppress out of fear. It didn't work – Lisa could hear the belt crack down on him less than a second later.

"Do you understand me?" William bellowed.

"Yes!" Blaine screamed. "Please just stop it!"

"Say girls are pretty and not boys," William demanded.

Blaine was silent, which made Lisa fear the worst. Sure enough, she could hear him being whipped yet again following a few unresponsive seconds.

"Are you going to say it or not?" William shouted.

"Girls are pretty and not boys!" Blaine screamed. "Please don't hit me again, Daddy. Please don't."

William ignored his request. "Now say you like girls and not boys."

"I like girls and not boys!" Blaine stumbled over the words as he hurried to say them, almost as if he were trying to get it over with. Because even at the tender age of six, he knew that what he was saying couldn't be further from the truth. 

Lisa flinched as she snapped back into reality, remorse crawling into her heart as she berated herself for not having done anything to stop William when that had happened. She figured the least she could do was prevent something similar form happening again. Although she knew that her son's homosexual acts were sinful and unnatural, she couldn't stand the thought of seeing him get hurt at the hands of his father again.

"William, wait," she called out.

She was honestly surprised when he turned around. "What? What is it?"

"You're not…you're not going to hurt him, are you?"

Her husband's eyes darkened with anger. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you _happy _that our son is some kind of homosexual freak?"

"I'm not _happy _about it," she insisted. "But hurting him and beating it out of him isn't going to do us any good."

"This isn't up to you!" William shouted. "It's _his _problem! If he can't take a beating like a man, then he deserves what he's got coming to him."

He turned around and barged through the front door, leaving his wife frozen in place halfway up the steps.

xxx

"How was he?" Kurt asked quietly, pulling at a loose thread on his blanket.

Burt sighed and sat down in his son's desk chair. The outfit that Kurt had never worn for sectionals was still draped over the back.

"He was very gracious," Burt told him. "Before he got out of the car, he thanked me again for everything I've done, even though it doesn't seem like much to me. And he made sure to let me know again how much he loves you." He smiled.

Kurt returned his father's smile, but his voice was hesitant when he spoke.

"Was he scared?"

Burt closed his eyes for a second and nodded. "He was trying not to show it, but yeah, he was. I couldn't stand to look at him walking up to that big empty house all by himself, knowing what he had to face."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "It's a gorgeous home, but it's so intimidating and imposing. Even on the inside, it's like that. I don't think I'd ever want to live in a place like that."

"Me neither," Burt agreed. "Y'know, maybe this is just my lack of sleep talking, but somehow I always got the feeling that Blaine was always more at home here at our place, with us. With you."

Kurt's mind immediately flashed back to the conversation he'd had with Blaine on their last night of complete normality together, in which he'd expressed that he didn't quite feel good enough. He remembered the way Blaine had looked into his eyes and reassured him that he was the most valuable part of Blaine's life, worth more to him than anything in the superfluously extravagant home.

"Me too," he whispered.

xxx

"_Blaine_!"

He had been expecting this. The second his father's bellowing voice echoed up the stairs, Blaine calmly stood up and left his bedroom.

Sure enough, his father was already charging up the stairs with his mother not far behind. In all his years, he'd never seen his father this angry or upset, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and remain as calm as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was fight fire with fire.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" William roared. "After _everything _I've done for you – _this _is how you repay me? By deciding that you want to be some kind of sick homosexual freak? Did you learn _nothing _from what happened the last time?"

"No," Blaine said simply, his voice even. "I didn't. Because I didn't _decide _to be this way. I never chose this for myself."

"And you expect me to believe that," his father shot back sarcastically. "You expect me to believe that you, in a perfectly normal state of mind, decided to walk up to some homo who was rightfully beaten and tied to a pole and _kiss _him."

"Don't say that about Kurt." Blaine's voice was stronger and more impassioned, but he still managed to come off as respectably calm. He looked his father in the eye as he finally dared himself to speak the truth.

"I love him," he continued after a moment. "I love Kurt with everything that I have. You can beat me until I'm black and blue, but that's never going to change."

His voice broke as he finished speaking and he could feel hot tears burning his eyes, but he didn't dare let them fall. He would never let his father see him cry again. He wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

William shook his head slowly as he stared at Blaine. "You are the most spoiled, ungrateful little sonofabitch I've ever known. You don't care that this is going to ruin your career and our family's well-being, do you? All you care about is the fact that _you _love him. Well guess what, _Blaine_. It's not all about _you_."

"I don't understand why you have to be involved," Blaine insisted. "This is _my _career, Dad. If I'm willing to put it in jeopardy because of who I love, then that's my decision and mine only. I'm not going to let myself be your moneymaking puppet anymore."

"Listen, you little brat," William growled, angrily pulling Blaine towards him and lifting him up by the collar of his shirt. "I _am _involved, whether you like it or not. _I _was the one who got you your record deal in the first place. _I _was the one who put you on the path to where you are now. And now you're going to throw everything I've done for you out the window because of some dirty poor boy who spends all day tinkering with cars?"

Blaine inhaled sharply and spoke through his teeth. "Don't say those things about the boy I love."

"I'll say whatever the hell I want about him!" William shouted, lifting Blaine up closer to his red, angry face. "He's _wrong_, Blaine! Everything about him is wrong!"

"William, stop it!" Lisa shouted, sensing that he wasn't about to put Blaine down anytime soon. "Why don't we sit down and _talk _with him about it?"

"Yeah, can't we do that?" Blaine asked in agreement. "I'd be more than happy to explain everything to you."

"What is there to say?" William demanded. "We already know you're a sick homo freak. There's no further explanation necessary."

"Put him down!" Lisa cried, stepping closer and reaching forward to try and help Blaine. William responded by lifting his leg and kicking her, not too forcefully but just enough to send her stumbling back a few steps.

As his wife struggled to regain her balance, gripping onto the railing at the top of the stairs to steady herself, William pulled a trembling Blaine up even closer to his face, making no effort to hide the rage that burned his skin or the hatred in his eyes.

"You are a disgrace to this entire family," he growled, practically spitting his revulsion into Blaine's face. "You're dead to me, do you understand that? Dead!"

He finally let Blaine go, setting him down with unnecessary force without realizing how close he was to the top of the stairs. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Blaine tried to straighten himself up and face his father defiantly one last time.

But his feet had barely been on the ground for a second when he lost his balance and found himself teetering over the edge of the top step. He flailed in terror for a moment, trying to catch himself to no avail. Time seemed to slow down, and for a second he felt like he could take in everything at once – the glowering hatred on his father's face, his mother's anguished scream as she realized what was happening…and then, suddenly at the front of his mind, there was Kurt.

He snapped back into reality just before he fell.

xxx

The sun was streaming softly through the window when Kurt woke up the next morning. It was Monday, but he wouldn't be going to school both because of his injuries and because he didn't quite think he'd ever be welcome at school again, anyway. He slowly let his eyes drift open and pulled his covers closer around himself. He hadn't slept as well that night without Blaine there to hold him, but he was strangely calm for some reason. He almost felt as if he had begun to accept everything that had happened to him, knowing full well that there was nothing he could do about it. In the strangest way, it almost brought him a sense of inner peace to know that he was starting to come to terms with it.

He lost track of how long he spent lying there pondering this in the still silence of his room. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and his father's broken-sounding voice asking if he could come in, and it was as if Kurt's perfect calmness had suddenly been shattered like glass.

He swallowed the lump of nerves and his throat – why was he even nervous all of a sudden? – and cleared his throat before speaking up loudly. "Yeah, I'm up. Come on in."

Burt looked like hell, and that was putting it nicely. His eyes were bloodshot red and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days. When he spoke again, Kurt could tell that he was trying not to cry even though it was clear that he'd already shed some tears this morning.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said slowly, taking a careful seat on the edge of Kurt's bed as Kurt sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Something happened. I want you to hear it from me first, so you don't hear it unexpectedly on the radio like I just did."

Terror gripped Kurt's heart all of a sudden. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Okay."

Burt took a deep breath and forced himself to look into his son's eyes, which were wide with fear. He almost hated himself for having to be the one to deliver this news to Kurt, but Kurt deserved to know more than anyone.

"There was an incident at Blaine's house yesterday afternoon when his parents got home," Burt said slowly. "Blaine was up in his room, his parents came up to confront him and he apparently heard them coming and headed out to meet them at the top of the stairs…well, the broadcast I just heard didn't give the dirty details, but eventually I guess his old man picked him up by the collar and set him down right at the edge of the top step. He couldn't get his balance and he…he fell. Snapped his neck and suffered significant spinal cord and nerve damage."

Kurt couldn't believe what he was hearing – didn't _want _to believe it. He could already feel his heart starting to break, and he couldn't help but fear the worst.

"D-did he survive?" he heard himself ask weakly, though he had the feeling he already knew the answer.

The instant Burt began to shake his head no, Kurt instantaneously collapsed into a tiny ball of pain and emotion, burying his face in the mattress as he began to cry. He felt as if his heart had been captured by a black hole, sucked away into nothing. He'd only felt this unimaginable amount of pain once before in his life – when his mother had passed away years ago – and he'd hoped he would never feel it again, yet here it was. Seconds had passed since he'd learned the news and he could already feel the pain eating away at him, starting with his heart, devouring him from the inside out until there was nothing left of him.

From the edges of his conscious awareness, he could sense his father placing a gentle hand on his back and speaking again, this time making no effort to hide the fact that he, too, was crying. "God, Kurt, I'm so sorry. You loved that boy more than life itself, I know you did. And he loved you just as much."

Kurt couldn't respond as he was still so consumed by the pain. He tried to let it sink in, because he knew the sooner he accepted it, the better. But that didn't make it any easier for him to consider the truth: Blaine was gone forever. Kurt couldn't believe it. Could. Not. Believe. It. He was never going to see Blaine smile again. He was never going to kiss him again. He'd never again feel as safe and protected as he did in Blaine's arms; he would never again look into those warm, hazel eyes, confident in the knowledge that the boy looking back at him loved him beyond all words. Every new realization was like another hundred stabs to his already deteriorating heart.

"Kurt, look at me," he heard his father say, but he couldn't quite bring himself to pick up his head and do so. It took a few moments and a great deal of effort to finally bring himself to look into Burt's eyes.

"I know your heart is completely broken by now, but I want you to know something," Burt said. "The other day when you came home from the hospital, Blaine never left your side all day. Even when you were sleeping and I came by to check on the two of you, he was still holding you and kissing your face and looking at you in that special way he always had…"

"He looked at me like he couldn't see anything else in the world," Kurt gasped through his sobs.

Burt nodded in agreement. "That's exactly it. And you wanna know what he told me when I dropped him off at his place yesterday, right before he got out of the car?"

"What?" Kurt somehow managed to say.

"We were talking about you, and he told me – looks me straight in the eye and says, 'I can die happy knowing that I've had the privilege of loving him.'"

Kurt audibly choked on a sob; Burt placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he continued.

"You made him _so _happy, Kurt. You brought him so much happiness. Something tells me he wouldn't have had too many reasons to smile if it weren't for you." He paused to smear a tear away from his eye before he continued. "He died happy because he loved you. Unfortunately, based on what I've heard, it doesn't sound like he died instantly after he fell – they made it sound like he kind of lay there suffering for a little bit. But I'd be willing to bet every cent I'm worth that in his last few moments, he was thinking of you."

Kurt burst into yet another round of sobs, burying his head in his hands and speaking almost inaudibly.

"I don't want to believe it," he mumbled. "I don't want to believe that he's gone."

"I know," Burt agreed, sounding on the verge of tears again himself. "Blaine was a wonderful young man. I don't want to believe it, either."

He stayed in Kurt's room for a long time, mumbling reassurances even through his own tears. Kurt tried to listen to what his father was saying – he really did – but before long, he was once again overwhelmed with pain and he unconsciously tuned Burt out. For a delirious moment, he wondered if he would ever feel whole again.

It was a silly question. He truly didn't think he ever would.


	24. Chapter 24

First of all, if you never finished reading the last chapter because it awkwardly got cut off in the middle of a sentence when I uploaded it…you should probably go do that. I'm really sorry once again about that…I didn't even realize it had happened until about 10 different people had kindly let me know and then when I went to look at it I wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear. Yeah. That was super embarrassing. And of course it happened in the WORST possible chapter, too. Hopefully this one gets posted without any problems.

It's a little bit happier here, I promise! Still sad given the circumstances obviously, but things do start to look up for poor Kurt. This is the last actual chapter of this story; there will be an epilogue as I mentioned before, and that'll include the happier part of this ending. I'll try to write that as soon as I can…I'm leaving for my study abroad trip to Germany tomorrow so I'll try my best to write bits and pieces of it whenever I can and get it posted ASAP.

Also, I actually don't have to post a trigger warning for this chapter so YAY.

* * *

24

He couldn't accept it. Through the week that followed, Kurt refused to tell himself that Blaine was gone forever and that he'd never see him again. It seemed too surreal that one day Blaine had been snuggling up beside him in bed and the next he was dead and gone. When they'd said their last goodbyes, Kurt had known that there was a chance they wouldn't be able to see each other for quite a while, but he'd never expected this.

Out of nowhere, he also found himself to be at the center of a media firestorm with every major news outlet clamoring for his attention. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a piece of Kurt Hummel, Blaine Anderson's mysterious lover whose name had become known to the public just a day before the young superstar's tragic death. It came to the point where Burt had to leave all the phones in the house off the hook so that he and Kurt wouldn't be annoyed by their constant ringing on behalf of reporters who wanted to talk with Kurt.

And it wasn't even that Kurt didn't want to talk about it – he knew he'd want to someday, but it was too soon. How could he be expected to sit down with some reporter and calmly recap the past several months of his life when the person he'd loved more than anything had just been cruelly taken from him? He would eventually want to be able to tell his side of the story, but not now. Not while the pain was so fresh.

A few days after Blaine's death, Kurt was lying in bed and flipping through the pages of a novel without really reading it in a halfhearted attempt to take his mind off of things. He hadn't been to school for nearly a week, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to go back again. He was absently pondering what the hell he was going to do in order to finish his education when he heard the doorbell ring downstairs, followed by his father's heavy footsteps as he headed to answer it.

The voice of whoever was at the door didn't sound familiar to Kurt, at least from what he could hear. He could hear his father's voice carrying on a conversation with the man, but he was too far away to be able to make out specifically what they were discussing. He tried his best to eavesdrop anyway, and it was a good twenty minutes before the other man left and he heard his father coming upstairs.

Sure enough, just a few seconds later, there was a knock at his bedroom door.

"You can come in," Kurt called across the room.

His father entered the room, carrying a small bundle of papers and wearing the closest approximation of a smile Kurt had seen on his face in a while. He was about to ask what was going on, but Burt took a seat on the edge of the bed and spoke before Kurt could even open his mouth.

"Look, I know things have been pretty bad lately, but I've got some good news."

Kurt frowned. "Is it even possible for there to be such thing as 'good news' for me anymore?"

"Trust me on this one," Burt told him. "So William Anderson – Blaine's old man – has been arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter. That guy at the door just now was some kind of investigator in the case. They just took Mr. Anderson into custody this morning. And get this – his mother's the one who pressed charges. She didn't necessarily say the old man _pushed _Blaine down the stairs, but she said that making Blaine fall seemed to be his intention."

Kurt had felt his jaw drop before his father had even finished speaking. "No way."

"It gets better," Burt continued. "Lisa Anderson apparently wanted to sit down and actually talk things over with Blaine, let him explain everything calmly, but her husband got physically violent before she had a chance to really do much. I don't know about you, but for me it's a little bit of a relief to know that he kind of had someone on his side…y'know, at the end."

"Unbelievable," Kurt mumbled, shaking his head. "I don't know how to feel about this, honestly. I'm glad his dad got charged with something, and I'm glad his mom kind of came to her senses a little bit, but none of that changes the fact that he's _gone_."

"I know," Burt sighed, nodding in agreement. "But there _is _one more bright spot, I promise."

Kurt looked at him doubtfully out of the corner of his eye. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Burt repeated. "So apparently after Blaine's father was arrested, the investigators searched his house and they found a couple items of interest in Blaine's room."

He handed Kurt one of the pieces of paper he'd been holding. "This was on Blaine's desk. The guy said it didn't appear to be addressed to anyone, but since you're mentioned several times, he thought it would be appropriate to give to you."

Kurt's eyes widened as he skimmed over the words on the page. Written in Blaine's own handwriting, it appeared to be some kind of coming-out announcement in which he explained his so-called homosexuality and his love for a boy named Kurt Hummel. There were a million different questions racing through Kurt's mind as he quickly read it over, but the one thing that jumped out at him and made his heart stop for a second was the date, which Blaine had printed neatly in the top right-hand corner of the paper.

_November 4, 1956_. Blaine had written this on the day he died – within the last few hours of his life, no doubt. Now that their secret was out, he'd planned on telling his own side of the story, but he'd never gotten the chance.

He clutched the paper to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut but didn't cry just yet. Even though Blaine was no longer here on earth with him, Kurt couldn't help but feel so unbelievably proud of him for writing this with the attention of announcing it proudly to the world someday.

"They also found this," Burt said all of a sudden, snapping Kurt back into reality. "Since my name is on it and it hasn't been cashed, they were kind of obligated to give it to me."

He handed Kurt the other small piece of paper he was holding. It was a check, made out to Burt Hummel in the amount of one thousand dollars. On the line in the bottom left corner, Blaine had written _Hospital bills_, and across from that he'd dashed off his signature.

"I'd mentioned to him once that I had no idea how the hell I was going to pay the medical costs from when you were in the hospital. I sure as hell wasn't expecting this," Burt told him, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is more than enough to cover that, and we'll even have some left over."

_Now _was when Kurt finally let himself cry. The thought of the potential financial troubles this situation could have caused his father had been lingering in the back of his mind all week, but they had nothing to worry about now that Blaine had left them this amazing final gift. He felt his father pulling him into a hug and he cried into Burt's shoulder, completely blown away by Blaine's compassion and generosity that lived on even after his death.

"He's so amazing," Kurt whispered in disbelief. He pulled back from the hug, and Burt saw him smile for the first time since he'd learned the horrible news. "Being loved by him was such an honor."

"I think this is proof right here that he still _does _love you, even if he's not here anymore," Burt pointed out.

Kurt nodded in agreement as he wiped his tears away. "Y'know, tonight's going to be really hard, but this might just make it a little easier."

Burt considered this for a moment. That night at the wake, his son would see the boy he loved for the very last time. He knew it was going to be unimaginably difficult for Kurt, but for some reason this last grand gesture of love from Blaine had left no doubt in his mind that Blaine still loved him.

"I think you might be right," he said.

xxx

Just a few hours later, despite having thought that his fears would be eased, Kurt suddenly found that he was too scared to get out of the car once they'd arrived at the funeral home.

"We don't have to stay long," Burt told Kurt, who was paralyzed with trepidation in the passenger seat. "We don't even have to go in there at all, if you don't want to."

Kurt shook his head. "No, I want to. It's just that this is even harder than I was expecting."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Burt reassured him. "We'll go in whenever you're ready."

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to pull himself together. When he opened his eyes, he looked for the first time at the long line of people that stretched through the doors of the funeral parlor.

"There's so many people," he observed quietly.

"Just goes to show how much people loved him," Burt pointed out.

"I know," Kurt said carefully. "I just…didn't know if there would be this many people who still would want to see him after the news about us broke."

He shook his head and opened his door, finally willing himself to step outside. "Whatever, I guess. We should go before the line gets any longer."

Both Hummel men headed across the parking lot and took their place at the end of the line. And all of a sudden, when Kurt realized who was standing directly in front of him, his heart stopped.

He moved behind his father as quietly as possible, but of course Burt had to go and speak up to draw attention to him. "What's the problem, Kurt? What are you standing back there for?"

Sure enough, as soon as Burt had said his name, the dark-haired girl in front of them turned around. "Kurt?"

She was the last person on earth Kurt wanted to see at that moment. He was still so upset about everything that had happened that he made no effort to be cordial.

"Rachel," he said flatly, offering his former friend no other greeting.

Unfortunately, Rachel had never been the type to know when to keep her mouth shut, and that was still evident even now.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. I wish I never would have told Finn," she said, clearly not getting the hint that Kurt had no desire to talk to her. "I-I never intended for this to happen."

"Would you stop it?" Kurt snapped. "It's too late now. You can apologize all you want, but it's not going to bring Blaine back."

"I know that!" Rachel cried, tears choking her voice. "I still feel absolutely horrible that it led to this."

She looked at him for a long time, taking in the black eye and bruises on his face (which had faded somewhat, but were still quite apparent), his slightly obvious false tooth, the way his bottom lip was still the tiniest bit swollen, the bandage that held his broken nose together.

"And I'm sorry about what happened to you, too," she continued. "I should have known Finn would do something like this…I don't know what I was thinking, telling him like I did. He got suspended from school after what happened."

Kurt laughed humorlessly. "You really think that's going to make me feel better about all this?" he asked in response, caustic sarcasm saturating his voice. "'Oh, Finn's suspended.' Blaine's _dead_."

"I realize that," Rachel told him. "Otherwise I wouldn't be lined up outside a funeral home, waiting to see him, would I?"

Burt, who had been silently observing the whole debacle, finally spoke up. "Kurt, do you want to leave and come back later?"

"No, Mr. Hummel, that won't be necessary," Rachel said before Kurt had a chance to open his mouth. She stepped out of line and began walking away. "I probably shouldn't have come, anyway. Goodbye, Kurt."

Kurt rolled his eyes as soon as she was out of sight. "God, that's just about the last person I wanted to see tonight."

"Well, at least you know she won't be back," Burt pointed out.

From that point, it seemed that the line was starting to move a bit faster. A few minutes later, they were inside the lobby of the funeral home; not long after that, they'd actually made it into the viewing room. Suddenly Kurt's fears caught up to him again, and when he noticed a large group of people gathered at one end of the room around what was presumably the casket, he immediately turned his face away.

"Is it open?" he asked hesitantly.

Burt took a few seconds to peer over people's shoulders to try and see.

"Yeah," he finally said.

He turned back to face Kurt, who was still making a point not to look in the direction of the casket. "Are you still sure about this?"

Kurt nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I feel like I need to see him one more time."

The line of mourners continued creeping forward as everyone took their turn to pay their last respects to Blaine, and Kurt finally allowed himself to look at the casket once they got a bit closer. Seeing Blaine lying there made him feel as if his heart had been ripped right out of his chest. He'd known that this was going to be one of the most difficult things he'd ever done, but he hadn't expected this. In a way, this hurt even more than when he'd first found out the horrible news.

"I didn't see _that _coming," Burt said all of a sudden, and Kurt plummeted back to reality (though not without a broken heart).

"You didn't see what coming? He tried to speak at a normal level, but his voice emerged as a tear-choked whisper.

Burt nodded towards the woman who was greeting everyone personally at the front of the line. "I guess I didn't know how involved his mother would want to be in this whole process, especially considering that she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of how Blaine was."

Kurt found himself paralyzed with fear yet again out of nowhere. For the first time, he realized that he'd never formally met either of Blaine's parents, and now he was about to be introduced to his mother under the worst possible circumstances. He had no idea how she'd react when she figured out who he was. Would she call over one of the many security guards that were on site and have Kurt forcibly removed from the premises? Would she curse him out and personally forbid him from approaching the casket?

He didn't have much time to think about this, because before he knew it, he was at the front of the line and face-to-face with Lisa Anderson.

"Hello, Mrs. Anderson," he said politely. "I don't believe we've ever officially met."

He swallowed the gigantic lump of nerves that was clogging up his throat and tried to speak as confidently as possible. "I'm Kurt Hummel. This is my dad, Burt."

He knew he would never forget the look on Lisa Anderson's face in that moment. Up until he'd said his name, she appeared confused, as if she were trying to figure out why he looked familiar, but as soon as she realized who he was, her expression turned to one of shock. He continued before she could speak, tears choking his voice despite his best effort to speak strongly.

"I know you don't approve of what Blaine and I shared together," he said, "but it would mean so much to me if I could see him one more time. After that, I'll leave and you'll never have to see or hear from me again. I promise."

To his surprise, Blaine's mother wasn't the least bit hesitant about letting him step closer to the casket.

"Of course," she told him. Her voice was quiet, and Kurt suspected she was trying not to cry. "Take as much time as you'd like with him."

He didn't realize just how badly he was trembling until he began to move forward. It only took him a few steps to reach the casket, but he was shaking so badly that he practically collapsed on his knees in front of it.

What broke his heart the most, once he finally got close enough, was how peaceful Blaine looked. Even in death, his face held the same calm composure Kurt remembered from when he'd seen him sleeping. His hair was gelled into the usual slicked-back style he wore whenever he performed, and he was dressed in the same suit and tie he'd worn just a few days after they'd met, when he'd taken Kurt out to dinner for their first official date. Kurt couldn't help but notice that the collar on his white dress shirt was pulled up just a bit higher than Blaine would have worn it normally, and he couldn't help but wonder if the undertaker had done that on purpose while preparing the body in order to hide some kind of deformation that had appeared in his neck as a result of the fatal fall.

As he took in all these things, he felt himself breaking apart more and more. Suddenly he found it impossible to look any longer at Blaine's face – young, beautiful, and forever sixteen. He leaned his head against the smooth, polished wood of the luxurious casket and allowed himself to collapse into sobs. It was the most he'd cried since he'd first learned the terrible news. All week, he'd been adamant about refusing to accept the fact that Blaine was really gone, but here was his proof. The heart that had once loved Kurt more and more with every beat was silent for all eternity. Those warm, hazel eyes in which Kurt had always found affection and solace would never see the light of day again.

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and made a relatively futile attempt to wipe the tears from his eyes, but something caught his attention. Earlier that evening, when he had been changing into his only suit before coming here, he'd absentmindedly slipped on his class ring out of habit – it was the most expensive thing he owned, so he only ever wore it when he was getting dressed up for special occasions. His birthstone, a large emerald, adorned the center; his name and graduation year, 1957, were engraved on the side.

Before he could think too much about it, he pulled the ring off his own finger and reached into the casket to pick up one of Blaine's hands. His palms and the tips of his fingers would forever be calloused from years of playing the guitar, and Kurt was struck with nostalgia for a moment as he remembered how wonderfully rough and yet gentle Blaine's hands had always felt against his skin. Now, though, they were limp and lifeless. Kurt tried not to think about that as he slipped his ring into place on Blaine's finger, then folded the hand neatly over top of the other one across his chest.

He moved his own hand up to cradle Blaine's cold cheek, suddenly recalling some of the last few lines of _Hamlet _– his English class had finished reading the play on the previous Thursday, the last day before Kurt's life had turned completely upside down.

"Good night, sweet prince," he quoted, letting Shakespeare's centuries-old words fall as a whisper as his fingers caressed Blaine's face, "and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

Then, because he feared he would never be able to leave if he spent any more time there, he made himself stand up and walk carefully away. He watched as his father stepped forward and knelt in front of the casket, paying a few silent moments of respect to the boy his son had loved before he, too, stood up and headed over to where Kurt was standing just a few feet away.

"You ready to get out of here?" Burt asked, and Kurt nodded tearfully without saying a word.

Burt could see that Kurt was practically falling apart from the inside out, so he wrapped a comforting arm around his son's trembling shoulder and began guiding him out of the visitation room. When they stepped out into the hallway, Kurt paused for a moment so he could try and catch his breath – and in doing so, almost ran right into someone approaching from the opposite direction.

"Whoa there, daddy-o, sorry about that."

The other person's voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Kurt's eyes were too blurry with tears for him to recognize who it was. If whoever it was hadn't continued before Kurt had a chance to move out of the way, he never would have realized who he'd just run into.

"Hey, wait up a minute. Kurt?"

Kurt blinked a few times to clear the tears that still clouded his eyes. When he finally realized who the other person was, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my god, David. I can't tell you how nice it is to see you."

Blaine's former driver smiled sympathetically as he pulled Kurt into a hug. "C'mere, man. You look like you're just about to fall apart."

"I'm surprised I haven't already," Kurt mumbled, but hugged David back all the same. He smeared a stray tear off his face as they pulled back. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."

"I can't even imagine," David admitted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Kid your age having to go through something like this…that took a lot of guts for you to go in there just now. That was a real brave thing for you to do, Kurt. Not a lot of people would have had the strength to face that, 'specially at…how old are you? Eighteen?"

"Seventeen," Kurt told him.

"Seventeen," David repeated. "Oh, boy."

He sighed sympathetically before he continued. "So what's next for you? Are you coming to New York this weekend?"

Kurt had heard that this wake wouldn't be the only one for Blaine. Tonight, the friends he'd made during his brief time in Ohio would be able to come and honor him, and overnight his body would be taken to New York City, where he'd spent most of his life, for another wake the following evening. His funeral was scheduled for the morning after the second wake, and then he would be buried in a plot his family already owned in a New York cemetery. It made sense to Kurt that Blaine's family would want to handle things this way, since they knew that quite a large number of people would want to show up to pay their respects, but he'd known that going all the way to New York for the actual funeral was a no-go ever since he'd heard the plans.

He shook his head as he answered David. "We don't really have the money to get there…besides, I don't think his family would be too keen on having me there, anyway."

"That's too bad," David told him. "You'll be missed there, that's for sure."

Kurt nodded as he realized what David meant. He knew that Blaine would have wanted him to come, and knowing that he couldn't go broke his heart even more.

"Well, I'll let you go," David was saying, and Kurt immediately snapped back into reality. "It was nice to see you, Kurt. Hang in there, you dig?"

"I'll try," Kurt told him. "You too. I mean…I know you and Blaine were really good friends."

"I loved that kid like a brother," David said. "And I still do. I was only supposed to be his driver, but he treated me with so much respect that it was hard _not _to befriend him. He had the kindest heart of anyone I've ever met."

"I know," Kurt agreed, feeling tears spring to life in his eyes again as he nodded.

Talking to David had brought him a bit of much-needed comfort, but he knew that he would start breaking down again any second now and found it wise to end the conversation.

"Have a safe trip to New York," he said sincerely. "I'll see you around."

As he turned to leave the building with his father, he could feel the tears he'd been trying to hold back slipping one by one down his face. By this point, he didn't think they'd ever stop.

xxx

Lisa Anderson's mind had been racing with seemingly hundreds of different thoughts and emotions all day. It was one thing to have her child lying dead in a casket, but it was another to know that said child was really only dead because his own father couldn't control his own hatred and intolerance. From the moment she'd heard the coroner's official pronunciation of death, she'd told herself that she would try as hard as she could to try and accept that maybe – just maybe – what her son and this Kurt boy had shared together really _had _been special and beautiful.

For the past few days, it had been hard. She couldn't accept that kind of love as being natural and right – it was so strange to her, and even the thought of her son having a physical and emotional relationship with another boy made her cringe. As much as she wanted to try and change her perspective for Blaine's sake, she soon discovered that doing so was much easier said than done.

But something had changed when she'd seen Kurt Hummel kneeling reverently at her son's casket. Never before had she seen that kind of pain and heartache written so explicitly across someone's face, and in that moment she knew – she could see it clear as day – that Kurt loved her son, simple as that. She saw it in the way he picked up Blaine's hand and slid what appeared to be some kind of ring onto his finger, then began to caress his cold, lifeless cheek for just a second while he whispered something that Lisa couldn't hear. Suddenly it seemed silly that she ever could have had any doubt whatsoever about their love.

She continued greeting various mourners as they approached the casket after Kurt had left, all the while glancing occasionally at the open door where she could see Kurt and his father talking to David in the hallway. The second the three of them parted ways, she immediately excused herself and began making her way over toward the door before she could second-guess what she was about to do.

Kurt and his father were already in the lobby, about to step out the main doors of the building when Lisa caught up with them.

"Kurt…Mr. Hummel…wait a second."

They turned around, and just as Lisa expected, they looked rather surprised to see her.

"Hello, Mrs. Anderson," Kurt said politely. It looked as if he'd been crying even more since he'd left the viewing room a few minutes earlier.

Lisa took a deep breath and swallowed her pride before she spoke.

"There's something I need to say to you," she said carefully. "Kurt, I want you to know that even though it was extremely difficult for me to accept the love you and Blaine shared while he was alive, I've had a change of heart in the past few days that became especially evident to me when I saw you at his casket just now. I was never around when the two of you were together, so I never saw your relationship for myself, but now I can see that you and him shared something that was really beautiful."

"We did." Kurt bowed his head humbly for a second before looking at her again. He had beautiful eyes – Lisa couldn't tell for sure what color they were, but that didn't mean they weren't mesmerizing. She wondered how Blaine had felt when he'd looked into these same eyes and saw nothing but pure, unadulterated love looking back at him.

"I know it's too late for me to be saying this," she continued. "Even if I can start to accept it now, it won't bring him back. I'll always regret that I didn't accept it while Blaine was alive. I can't even tell you how much I hate that it took _this _for me to finally see just how much you loved him."

"Love him," Kurt corrected gently, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with David just a few minutes previously. "I still do. And I always will."

"I know that. I could see it when you were in the viewing room with him just now. You're never going to stop loving him," Lisa told him, starting to feel a little bit choked up despite her efforts to keep her voice strong. "And that's why…I know this is horribly last-minute, but I wanted to personally invite you – and your father…," she nodded at Burt, "to come to New York for Blaine's funeral."

Kurt's mouth fell open in shock – it was the last thing he'd expected to hear from Blaine's mother, and he was so taken aback that he couldn't even speak for a second. Thankfully, Burt spoke up to break the stunned silence so that Kurt wouldn't have to.

"Ma'am, that's very nice of you to invite us…I know it means a lot to Kurt that you even put the offer out there…but we couldn't possibly afford…"

"I would be more than happy to pay for your travel expenses," Lisa offered. "I know Blaine would have wanted Kurt there. In fact, I could use a couple more pallbearers if you two are willing to do that."

Kurt could suddenly think of no greater honor. He glanced at his father with hope in his heart for the first time in what seemed like forever. "Dad, can we please go and do this for him?"

Burt shrugged and gave his son a sad approximation of a smile. "Looks like we're going to New York."

xxx

Twelve hours later, Kurt was getting ready to leave Ohio for the first time in his seventeen years – by plane, no less, which was certainly something he never thought he'd do. He'd always seen air travel as something specially reserved for the rich and/or famous, and he knew that if Lisa Anderson hadn't generously offered to pay for their flight, he and his father never would have been able to do this. He stared out the window for the entire duration of the flight, knowing that on any other occasion he would be impressed and amazed at how unreal this experience truly was – everything on the ground looked so unbelievably small, and it seemed surreal that they were flying tens of thousands of feet above solid ground at hundreds of miles per hour. Today, though, he couldn't let himself be amazed. He couldn't let himself feel much of anything other than melancholy numbness.

It was raining in New York when they landed. When they stepped outside, Kurt made no effort to reach into his carry-on bag for the umbrella he'd brought or even pull his coat up over his head to shield himself from the rain. They parted ways eventually; Lisa returned to her family's luxurious penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side and the Hummels caught a taxi across town, where they planned to find a relatively inexpensive hotel that was more in their price range. Lisa had kindly offered to let them stay at the apartment, but Burt had politely declined, saying that they had enough money for a few nights at a hotel and that he wouldn't want for the two of them to get in her way.

Once they were settled in the hotel, Kurt headed into the tiny bathroom and peeled his soaking-wet clothes off before stepping into the shower in a halfhearted attempt to warm up. If it had been any colder, the rain likely would have become snow, but he hardly noticed how cold he'd been since stepping off the plane. Even at its hottest, the water was relatively lukewarm, but Kurt hardly noticed. He sank into a sitting position under the spray, curling himself into a ball and trying not to think about anything.

He easily could have stayed there all day, but after about ten minutes, he heard a knock on the bathroom door followed by his father's muffled voice.

"Kurt? C'mon, let's go. I wanna use the shower before I get pneumonia from sitting around in these clothes."

Kurt reached forward with his leg and pressed the faucet in with his foot to turn it off without saying a word. After taking a few seconds to pull himself together, he stood up and wrapped a towel around his waist before opening the door.

"Water's not too hot," he mumbled as he brushed past his father, who was waiting right outside the door. "It was pretty lukewarm even when I got in."

His father rolled his eyes as he acknowledged this. "You get what you pay for, I guess. Thanks for the warning."

Burt disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door; Kurt heard the water start to run a few seconds later. He mindlessly got dressed, pulling on a t-shirt and cotton pajama pants, then tugged a thin blanket off one of the beds and wrapped it around himself as he sank into the armchair by the window.

He stared blankly at the torrential rain drenching the city, wondering how things would be different if he'd actually come here with Blaine like the two of them had discussed. All his life he'd been dreaming of coming to New York, but now that he was here he found himself feeling significantly underwhelmed – and he knew that that had everything to do with the fact that Blaine was not physically here with him.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize that Burt had turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathroom until he almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound of his father's voice.

"You hangin' in there, kid?"

Kurt flinched and turned around to see Burt stepping out of the bathroom, wearing a relatively casual ensemble similar to what Kurt himself had on. He sauntered across the room to where Kurt was sitting, trying to get a better look at his son's expression.

"Blaine always said he wanted to bring me here to New York," Kurt told him, trying to keep his voice even. "He knew it was my dream. We talked about coming here together."

He felt a tear slipping down his cheek as he turned back to look out the window and shook his head. "And I always believed him, but I never thought it would be under these circumstances."

He continued watching the downpour outside, no longer aware of his father's presence at his side, feeling only the way his tears fell like the rain.

xxx

Kurt and his father arrived at the funeral early the next morning with the rest of the pallbearers. Out of the six of them, Kurt didn't know anyone else other than his father and David – the other two included Blaine's estranged older brother, Cooper, and a cousin Kurt had never heard of. They were welcoming and friendly to him, both expressing their gratitude for his willingness to do this for Blaine, but it was hard for Kurt to tell just how they felt about his and Blaine's relationship.

He decided he didn't care what he thought. He didn't care what anyone thought anymore. His secret was out, and there wasn't anything he could do to take it back. He figured he may as well be proud of who he was.

The funeral seemed to drag as the morning progressed, but when Kurt looked back on it later, he would think it flew by in a blur. He went through the motions of everything a pallbearer was supposed to do, which most of the time involved lifting the casket and carrying it wherever it needed to go. He listened to David's heartfelt eulogy and watched Lisa try to fight back tears out of the corner of his eye. But no matter what was happening, he couldn't help but steal a glance at the casket every now and then, unable to believe that Blaine was in there, dead, for the rest of eternity.

When the service was over, he picked up his end of the casket and began maneuvering it slowly toward the doors so it could be loaded into the hearse. As he headed down the aisle burdened by the physical and emotional weight of his heartbreak, he refused to let his head hang down in sorrow and shame. He kept his chin up and his face solemnly forward, hoping Blaine would be proud of him for his new decision to completely accept who he was.

The ride to the cemetery and the burial itself didn't take very long. Despite the heavy sadness that still hung over his heart, at some point Kurt realized that he hadn't shed a single tear all day.

xxx

Kurt didn't think he got a single wink of sleep that night, and before he knew it he could see the first few rays of daylight breaking through the clouds. They would be flying back home later that afternoon, but suddenly he felt as if he were nowhere ready to leave New York. Although he could think of no logical reason to stay, the thought of leaving inexplicably broke his heart. It took him a few minutes of contemplation before he realized that leaving New York would mean leaving Blaine, and the thought of that made his stomach sink. He couldn't do it. He wasn't ready.

He decided to give up on sleep and go for a morning walk, get some fresh air, maybe buy a cup of coffee. The forecast had predicted that today would be the warmest day of the past few weeks, so he figured he may as well take advantage of the nice weather and go outside. He quickly got dressed and left a note for Burt, then headed for the door and grabbed his wallet, keys, and a tattered old newsboy cap to pull over his head as he ducked out the door.

He kept his hands in his pockets and his head down as he walked, not because he was worried about being recognized and harassed, but rather to help save himself some time. He didn't want to waste time stopping to talk to someone who may have recognized him. They were on a pretty tight schedule today and Kurt still had to finish packing, so he was hoping to make this a relatively quick ordeal – walk a couple blocks, stop for a quick coffee, then head back to the hotel.

Thankfully, the sidewalks were relatively uncongested, making his impromptu one-time commute simple enough. He managed to find a quiet little coffee shop that was just opening up for the day and stepped inside, pleasantly surprised to see that nobody else, save for the boy working behind the counter, was there.

He kept his head down, hoping the hat would help shield his face a bit as he stepped up to the counter to order.

"Can I get a regular black coffee, please?" As he spoke, he realized that his voice was even quieter than he'd intended for it to be, and he couldn't quite think of why that was.

The boy behind the counter – who appeared to be closer to Kurt's age than Kurt had originally thought – gave him a polite smile. "Absolutely. Coming right up."

He turned to reach for the coffee pot but something appeared to catch him off-guard. Instead, he took a longer look at Kurt as if trying to figure out where he'd seen him before.

"Hey, you're Blaine Anderson's boy, right? Kurt Hummel?"

Kurt nodded silently, looking at the ground.

"I thought you looked familiar," the other boy continued sympathetically, shaking his head. "God, I can't even tell you how sorry I am. If the rest of the world is this heartbroken over what happened to him, I can only imagine how you feel."

"Thanks," Kurt murmured appreciatively, letting his gaze flicker up to look at the boy behind the counter for the first time. If he hadn't been so numb to emotion, Kurt easily would have found him attractive – he had dark brown hair that was neatly styled; a strong, defined jawline; and chocolate brown eyes that would have melted Kurt's heart on any other occasion. He wondered for a delirious moment if he'd ever be able to look at another boy the way he'd looked at Blaine.

"You're here for the funeral, right?" the other boy was saying. "First time here in New York?"

Kurt nodded yes to both questions, trying his best to retain polite eye contact.

"Well, let me tell you something," he continued, his voice taking on a more serious tone as he leaned against his side of the counter, "I'm not gonna tell you that New York's the most wonderful place in the world to be a homosexual, because it's not. In fact, if there _are _any wonderful places like that, I'd like to know about them. But let me tell you, there are more homosexual advocacy and rights groups here in the city than you probably ever dreamed of back in…where are you from, again?"

"Ohio," Kurt told him. "Little town called Lima. It's nothing special."

"Yeah, that," the other boy continued. "Of course, there's still plenty of people here in town who are completely against it, but I'd almost be willing to say that New York's got the most advocacy groups this side of the Mississippi. Head on down to Greenwich Village if you get a chance. Those poets and beatniks and everyone else that hangs around those parts are some of the coolest, most accepting people you'll ever meet. And they're not afraid to fight back when they see any kind of injustice, including against homosexuals."

Kurt felt his eyes widening as he listened to all this. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that such a tolerant place existed. Suddenly New York held a whole new kind of magic for him.

"Look, after all you've been through, I wouldn't be surprised if you think everywhere on earth is as close-minded and bigoted as Bumblefuck, Ohio," the other boy said carefully, as if reading Kurt's mind, "but it's not like that everywhere. I promise you, it's not. I know you've got to get back home at some point, but don't be a stranger to New York, you dig?"

Kurt found himself nodding eagerly. "I won't."

They shared a lingering smile before the other boy seemingly snapped out of the moment and turned away. "Oh, hell. Look at me chatting up a storm and I haven't even gotten your coffee yet. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Kurt told him, watching as he turned to reach for the steaming coffee pot. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone that isn't my dad – not that my dad isn't great, but…y'know, it's good to have a new perspective on things, too."

The boy behind the counter shrugged it off. "Hey, no sweat. It's the least I can do. You've obviously been through a lot, and nobody else is coming in…I've got all the time in the world right now." He smiled sweetly as he expertly slid Kurt's mug of coffee across the counter to him without spilling a drop.

Kurt pulled his wallet out of his pocket and began fumbling to count out the correct amount of change. When he had all the coins he needed, he reached across the counter to hand them to the other boy, who promptly shook his head and smiled again.

"It's on the house," he said, throwing in a wink for good measure. "I know a free coffee won't fix everything, but hopefully it'll at least make your day a _little _better."

"Thank you," Kurt told him appreciatively with a sincere smile. "It means a lot."

He took his mug of coffee and was just about to go find a table so as not to be a bother any longer, but the other boy's voice called out and stopped him in his tracks before he could turn completely around.

"Hey, um…Kurt?"

Kurt turned around to face the other boy, who was smiling nervously.

"Forgive me if this is a bit forward, but…you're gorgeous," he continued shyly. "Blaine was a lucky guy."

Kurt could have sworn he felt his heart skip a couple beats. The last time he'd felt like this, it had been as a result of something Blaine had said to him. But it was different, too – this time, despite the butterflies he could feel in his stomach, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed with an inexplicable sadness as well.

"I was the lucky one," he said softly, shaking his head. "But thank you."

Before either of them could say anything more, the bell above the door jingled and another customer stepped into the shop. Kurt gave the boy behind the counter another sad but appreciative smile before taking his coffee to a small table in the corner near the window. What was supposed to be a quick walk and coffee stop had turned into a bit of a longer ordeal than he'd expected, but he suddenly found he didn't mind. He sipped slowly from his mug as he watched people come in and out, and he couldn't help but be thankful that nobody else recognized him – or didn't approach him if they did. It was nice to have a moment to himself to sit and think and try to make sense of his emotions for a while.

By the time he was finished, business had started to pick up and the tiny little coffee shop was so crowded that he couldn't even make his way up to the front to thank the boy behind the counter one more time. It wasn't until after Kurt had left that he realized he hadn't even asked him his name.

Even so, their brief conversation had given Kurt a new kind of hope that he hadn't even realized he needed. He didn't know if his pain over losing Blaine would ever go away and he didn't know if he'd be able to love anyone else in that way ever again, but he _did _know that there was a place for him in this world after all, and that place was New York.

* * *

Next up: the epilogue, in which you'll see exactly where Kurt's path eventually took him. Thank you to those of you who have stuck around this long; I know the past few chapters have been tough but I think you'll all be super proud of Kurt when you see where he ended up. :)


	25. Epilogue

Yay for happy endings! I know the past few chapters have been super depressing, but thank you to everyone who is still reading. I appreciate the fact that you've stuck with this, and I hope you enjoy this last little bit :)

Also, this isn't really related to this story at all and it's more of just a general thing, but I have a confession/announcement to make and I might as well say it here. I'm going to be taking an indefinite hiatus from writing fanfic/posting things on this site. There are two reasons for this…the first is that I'm in the (very, very, very early) planning stages of what will hopefully be my first novel! I've just started thinking about it and starting to do research in these past few weeks. I probably won't start actually writing for a while, but I'm super excited for it. I'd be happy to tell you more about it if you'd like even though I don't have a lot figured out yet. So that's where all my creative writing-related focus is going to be for a while :) and the second reason why I won't be around here as much is pretty much because I lost interest in Glee and I literally haven't watched it since January. I'm not sure what happened, but it's not really my cup of tea anymore. I knew I wanted to finish Lessons in Being a Man and this story, so I kept writing for a few months even after I stopped watching the show. You guys have been such amazing readers and I couldn't just stop writing in the middle of the story, because that would have been totally unfair to you, so I decided to at least finish what I'd started. But as of right now I don't have any plans to write anything more here.

Okay, glad I got that off my chest. A little bit of historical context here: if you don't know what the Stonewall Riots were, go Google it because it's a really fascinating landmark event in the gay rights movement. The one year anniversary of the riots was commemorated with the very first gay pride event, which was called "gay liberation day" for the first couple years or so. Yaaaaay.

* * *

Epilogue

_June 28, 1970 _

Kurt arrived at the cemetery just as the first few orange rays of daylight were peeking out of the sky. He smiled the slightest bit to himself when he realized that he could see the multitude of flowers that had been placed on Blaine's grave from about a hundred feet away. He'd lived in New York for a while now, but Kurt still made a point of coming here to visit Blaine about once a month or so, and he'd never seen the grave without flowers. Kurt had always found it touching that Blaine's fans still made a point to come and honor him even fourteen years after his death – but today was different. Today there seemed to be even more flowers than usual, and Kurt thought he had an idea of why that might be so.

He knelt down on the grass in front of the headstone, gently moving some of the flowers aside. Some of them had cards tied to them, and one person had even attached a small photo of Blaine to his or her bunch of flowers. To his own bouquet of dark red roses, Kurt had attached a small note that simply read _Love, your Kurt_. He was the only person who ever brought roses.

"Good morning, sweet boy," he whispered, leaning down to kiss Blaine's name in the center of the smooth stone. "Happy Gay Liberation Day."

He placed his bouquet front and center, partially obscuring the two dates that were tragically too close in time. _February 5, 1940 – November 4, 1956_.

"I like the word 'gay,' I think," Kurt pondered aloud. "I like that it also means 'happy.' They've been using it more and more over the past few years. It sounds so much better to me than 'homosexual.'" He made a face and laughed a little bit.

"Anyway, they're having this big event today – there's a parade, and they even asked me to make a speech, which I'm so excited about," Kurt continued. "It's to commemorate what happened at Stonewall last year…remember that? When I got arrested _again_?"

He smiled as he considered what had happened exactly one year ago. Stonewall had been far from Kurt's first arrest – in fact, he'd lost track of how many times he'd been arrested ever since he'd moved to New York a year after Blaine's death and become active in the up-and-coming gay rights movement. At age 31, he had to admit that it certainly wasn't the life he'd imagined himself leading back when he'd been in high school. He'd never officially graduated from McKinley, but due to the fact that he'd earned stellar grades in several advanced classes during his time there, it turned out that he'd accumulated the proper number of credits by the time he left high school in November of 1956. The school administration had simply given him his diploma early and he hadn't set foot on the McKinley High campus since.

After that, his choices became slightly more unclear. He'd figured out by that point that he hardly stood a chance of going to college if he didn't attempt conversion therapy, but he soon decided that any form of therapy was out of the question. No matter what any doctor or psychologist did to him, it wasn't going to change the fact that he liked boys and always would. Burt had talked to him about maybe going to a few sessions and faking his way through it so that he'd have a chance of getting to go to college, but Kurt had ultimately refused. Blaine had inspired him to be proud of who he was, and that was the most important thing – if he had to forgo a college education in order to be himself, then so be it.

He ended up sticking around Lima at first, and after recovering from the physical injuries he'd suffered when he was beaten up, he'd started working at Burt's garage again, trying to earn as much money as possible. About a year later, when he'd saved up a comfortable amount, he'd taken what was arguably the biggest risk of his life and hopped on a bus to New York City to seek out some of those so-called homosexual advocacy groups that the boy in the coffee shop had told him about. Other than maintaining a close correspondence with his father, he'd never once looked back.

A solemn smile slipped onto his face as he reached out to lay his hand on Blaine's headstone. He absentmindedly traced the engraved letters with his fingers as he spoke.

"I'm proud of every single one of my arrests," he said softly. "Because every single time, it's been for a good reason. I've been fighting for change in one way or another. I've been standing up for guys – and girls – like us."

He paused for a moment while he adjusted his position so he was lying on his stomach. It was barely seven a.m., and the heat was already starting to get unbearable – Kurt tried not to think about how bad it was going to be later that afternoon at the parade. He closed his eyes and let the cool blades of fresh-smelling grass tickle his face, keeping one arm outstretched so that his hand was still resting lightly on the stone. At times like this, he could swear he felt Blaine's presence there with him.

"I just hope you would be proud of me, too."

xxx

Blaine had become somewhat of a martyr for the gay rights movement in the years following his death, and Kurt had become aware of that very quickly after moving to New York. His relationship with Blaine meant that he was unwillingly revered by others involved in the movement, and as a result it hadn't taken long at all before he'd become one of the most influential activists in the city. It hadn't been a surprise to anyone (except for Kurt himself, who tried his best to remain humble despite the attention he usually received) when he'd been chosen as the keynote speaker to kick off the first-ever Gay Liberation Day parade.

He'd had to say yes, of course. He never would have been able to do this if it wasn't for Blaine, and he still wanted to do whatever he could to make Blaine proud.

He tried to lay low as he made his way through Greenwich Village that morning, taking in as much of the scene as possible. Even more people had turned up than he'd expected, and he knew that the numbers would continue to grow as the day went on. Seeing so many people supporting the cause sent an unimaginable thrill to his heart, and he knew without a doubt that somewhere on the other side, Blaine was smiling as he watched over them.

Eventually he started making his way toward the stage that had been set up just at the beginning of the parade route. As he got closer, he smiled to himself as he caught sight of the two people he'd been looking for all day standing relatively close to the front and picked up his pace so he could reach them faster.

"Funny seeing you two here, huh?"

Burt Hummel and Lisa Anderson both turned around at the sudden sound of Kurt's voice. Upon realizing who it was, huge smiles broke across both of their faces and they immediately enveloped him into a hug.

"Hey, what about that!" Burt exclaimed as he clapped his son on the back. "My son, the man of the hour. I didn't think I'd get to see you until after you were done with your big speech."

Kurt returned his smile and shrugged a little bit. He'd known that his father had been planning on coming to New York to support him today, but he hadn't expected that they'd run into each other beforehand, either.

"I've been keeping an eye out for you two all morning," he admitted. "I can't even tell you how much it means to have you two here today."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Lisa told him. "Blaine would have adored this."

Kurt nodded in agreement with a tender smile as he thought of Blaine. "He would have been so happy that you came today."

Blaine's mother had undergone the biggest change of heart of anyone Kurt had ever known, and he didn't think he'd ever been more proud of anyone. She now considered herself an ally to the movement and did whatever she could to raise awareness while continuing to honor her late son. She'd divorced Blaine's father after he'd been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in Blaine's death (he was currently rotting away in a cell as he served a 25-year prison sentence) and had remarried a few years ago, but she'd kept Anderson as her last name in memory of Blaine.

She smiled humbly at Kurt's words, and as he looked into her eyes he could see the sincerity of the changes she'd made.

"I hope so," she said. "He sure would be proud of _you_, that's for sure."

Kurt could feel tears pooling up in his eyes at her words, but he blinked them away – he couldn't cry, not yet, not in the moments before he had to get up and address hundreds of thousands of people.

"I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for him." Despite his best efforts to swallow his tears, his voice still broke.

Just as he finished speaking, a voice came over the speaker system to announce something that Kurt couldn't hear – his mind was too occupied with thoughts of Blaine for him to pay attention to anything. Thankfully, his father helped snap him back into reality by shaking his shoulder.

"You're up, kid." He clapped Kurt on the back and gave him a nudge forward toward the stage. "Go get 'em."

There was no turning back now. Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. He held his head high and let a confident smile spread across his face as he took the stage to thunderous applause.

He was accustomed enough to the spotlight by now that the sight of a huge crowd encouraged rather than terrified him. The second he set foot on the stage, the adrenaline that surged through him reconfirmed his belief that this was what he'd always been meant to do with his life. He waved happily to the crowd, and they cheered even louder for him.

"Good morning, New York City!" he shouted into the microphone. Yet another chorus of enthusiastic screams rose up from the crowd in response.

A smile of complete awe settled on his face as he continued. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kurt Hummel and I've been part of the movement here in New York for several years now. I got in a little bit of trouble at Stonewall last year…," he smiled coyly, and the audience tittered with a rumble of laughter, "and I couldn't be more humbled and honored to be here today one year later at this monumental event in the gay rights movement."

He paused reflexively for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had taken on a slightly more serious tone.

"I'll admit that when I was first asked to be the keynote speaker today, I agonized quite a bit over what I should talk about. I must have written about ten first drafts of completely different speeches. I spent way too much time stressing out over this. But then all of a sudden, almost out of nowhere, it hit me. I knew exactly what – or who – I wanted to talk about today."

He smiled sadly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to tell you about my boyfriend," he declared before taking another short pause. "My late boyfriend. To the rest of the world, he was a teen heartthrob and an international pop icon. But to me, he was the sweetest, most loving person I've ever known, and he's the one who inspired me to embrace myself exactly as I am with no regrets. He was the one and only Blaine Anderson."

Kurt closed his eyes for a moment, drinking in the respectful, attentive silence of the crowd. Despite having been an activist for almost half his life, he'd never spoken publicly about his relationship with Blaine before. He'd acknowledged that the two of them had been in love, of course, and just about everyone else involved with the gay rights movement knew him as Blaine Anderson's former boyfriend. But up until today, he'd never told his side of their love story in such intimate detail.

"Over the years, a lot of people have asked me about our relationship, and I've always kept my mouth shut. Even though it's been fourteen years since his death, it's never really felt like the right time to talk about what he and I shared together," Kurt continued. "But today, at this beautiful celebration, I feel like the time is finally right. After all, I wouldn't be standing up here in front of all of you today if it hadn't been for Blaine. He was the one who inspired me to be proud of who I am. I took that inspiration and I turned it into a desire to fight for change. I want every single gay man and woman here today to be able to proudly love whoever it is that you love – no secrets, no shame."

The audience responded to his bold statement with a respectful round of applause.

"Because let me tell you something," he continued. "Blaine and I had to keep our relationship a secret for months. And that's not easy to do when one half of a couple is a famous singing sensation. We would see other couples holding hands and kissing in the halls at school, and it broke our hearts to think that we would never be able to do that in public. But as soon as he and I were alone together, we could finally let our guard down and truly show our love for each other. It was like all that affection that we'd been bottling up inside finally came pouring out as soon as nobody else was around. We were two teenage boys, so stupidly head-over-heels in love…but it was real, genuine love. I've dated several other guys over the years since then, but I still say Blaine is my one true love."

The crowd was rapt with attention, hanging on his every word. As he paused to collect his thoughts for a moment, he was suddenly overwhelmed and had to stay silent for a few seconds longer than he'd intended as he swallowed the lump of tears in his throat.

"We even talked about how if it were to become legal someday, we wanted to get married." His voice broke the slightest bit, but he forced himself to try and stay strong. "And even if that was never legal in our lifetimes, we still dreamed of spending the rest of our lives together either way."

The first tear had slipped down his cheek by now. Kurt gave up all efforts of trying to hold any more back. "Well, his dream came true."

He had to stop for a moment to try and silently pull himself together. The crowd seemed even more silent than before, if that were possible. Kurt thought he heard a few people near the front of the audience crying quietly as well, but he was too overwhelmed with his own emotion to be sure.

"When our secret got out, needless to say, we were in a really tight spot. I thought I'd gotten the brutal end of it when I was beaten up and left in front of the school by some boys who used to be my friends. I broke my nose, lost a tooth and had some pretty ugly bruises that would take months to fade. But all of that was nothing compared to what Blaine faced when his parents got home that Sunday afternoon from a business trip his father had taken to New York. They came upstairs to confront him, he came out to meet them at the top of the steps…and I think all of you know what happened after that."

Fourteen years later, it was still difficult even for Kurt himself to finish that thought.

"On the day of Blaine's wake, my father and I got a visitor in the afternoon. Blaine's father had been taken into custody and charged with voluntary manslaughter, and the man who came to our house that afternoon was an investigator in the case. They'd searched Blaine's family's house and found some pretty interesting items, including a few sheets of paper stacked up on Blaine's desk in his bedroom. They were all written in Blaine's handwriting, and the date at the top of the first page was November 4, 1956."

Kurt paused to swallow the lump of tears in his throat. "Meaning that Blaine wrote those pages in the last few hours of his life."

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the folded- up squares of paper that he'd tucked away there. After unfolding the pages, he held them up for the audience to see.

"These were the pages that were found on his desk," Kurt announced. "Now, I'm not sure what Blaine's PR situation was like at that time – if he had a publicist or what not, but it seems to me that this was either a speech he was planning on making at some point, or a written piece that he wanted to have published somewhere. But no matter how he planned to deliver it to the public, one thing's for sure: this is a coming-out announcement. I've only shared this with a very, very small number of people since it was given to me…my father, Blaine's mother, and that's about it. But I'm going to read it to you all right now. This is what he wanted the whole world to know."

He looked out into the crowd for a moment. Every single face he could see was shocked into stunned silence. He cleared his throat and began to read from the pages he held.

"'I am what they call a homosexual. However, I prefer not to use that term because of the negative connotations it carries. I am simply a boy who likes boys, and I fail to recall a time in my life in which I didn't.'

"'But right now, my heart belongs to only one boy. The whole nation knows his name by now thanks to the _New York Times_, but just in case you haven't heard, he is Kurt Hummel. I had the pleasure of meeting him at one of my concerts this past summer, and my heart has been safely in his hands ever since.'

"'The love that Kurt and I share is so special and beautiful that I'm struggling to put it into words. Nobody else can make me feel the way he does, and even though I'm only sixteen and he's seventeen, I am absolutely confident that he is the one that I will spend the rest of my life with. I cannot picture my future without him in it. He will forever be my boy, and I will forever be his.'

"'But despite the pure, real, unadulterated love between us, most people still think that something is deeply and morally wrong with us for it. They hate us, even though what we share together doesn't affect them in any way. I saw this hatred for myself this past Friday when my Kurt was beaten to a bloody pulp and tied to the flagpole in front of the school, left on display for all to see. And the perpetrators of this disgusting, violent act were his own former friends. The vile lowlifes who did it gave me a choice – I could either knock him out and finish him off, or they would beat me just as much as they'd beaten him. As you all know by now, neither of the above happened. Instead, I decided to step forward and kiss him, and that kiss is what revealed our secret to the world.'

"'I don't regret that kiss for a second. I'm fully prepared to accept any consequences from it, whether they be career-related or social repercussions. And I will go to my grave swearing that there was nothing wrong with what I did. I'd kissed Kurt hundreds of times before Friday, but that just happened to be the first time I did it in public. That's right – I dared to express my love and affection for him in public, in broad daylight. I will never be ashamed of that.'

"'Kurt and I have had to keep our love hidden for months now, but now that it's out in the open, there's no point in staying silent about this any longer. Now that I can finally speak up about it, I want to let the whole world know that there is _nothing _wrong with us or the love we share. Kurt and I are not perverts, we are not Communists, we are not murderers. We're just two boys who found true love in one another. Neither of us chose this for ourselves. We were born like this, and we just so happened to be lucky enough to find each other.'

"'I know that what I'm saying here may fall on deaf ears, but it's worth the effort anyway. Likewise, I know that many of you still may find it hard to accept that two people of the same gender could love each other. However, this does not give anyone the right to mistreat us. Kurt and I are not asking for your approval, but we will demand your respect. The love we share together affects nobody else but us, and there is no logical reason why we – and other couples like us – shouldn't be afforded full equality.'

"'Now that our secret is out, I have nothing more to hide. From this point on, I will use my position in the public eye to fight against discrimination toward members of the homosexual community. It's heartbreaking when a loving, intelligent, beautiful boy becomes the victim of such heartless brutality because of who he loves, and I am not going to tolerate this any longer. If my career is destroyed because of my decision to stand up for what's right, then so be it. I welcome the possibility. I would rather stand up for myself and Kurt and everyone else like us than be a famous singer, and I will not give up my fight until every single person on this planet has the freedom to love.'"

He smiled a little bit, blinking away tears from his eyes as he continued speaking in his own words.

"Blaine would have loved what's happening today," he said. "He would have been right here on this stage performing and helping everyone to feel the magic of this moment, of this day, through his music. He is the one and only person who inspired me to do what I've been doing for the past fourteen years. I never would have worked up the courage to stand here today if it hadn't been for him."

He shook his head in disbelief as he took a second to consider everything that had gotten him to this point. He would have been lying if he'd said that the years since Blaine's death had been easy, but he was thankful for every lesson he'd learned along the way. There was no doubt in his mind that he was changing the world and he had every intention of continuing to do so.

"Now I know you're all anxious to get on with today's festivities, so I'll just wrap things up by saying thank you. Thank you all for showing up today and thank you for being completely proud of who you are. I'm so humbled and honored to be a part of this. Thank you."

He gave a slight, humble bow as he ended his speech to a rousing ovation from the crowd. It was hard to keep himself from smiling as he began heading offstage, and before he knew it he could feel another tear slipping down his face – but this wasn't a tear of sadness. He was so overwhelmed with positivity and joy that it was hard not to show some emotion.

He waved to the crowd right before he stepped offstage, and the cheers became even louder. He felt the sun's warmth on his face as more tears slipped down his cheeks, and he knew Blaine was proud of him.

-end-

* * *

Once again, thank you to every single person who stuck with this story and made it this far. And thank you to every single one of my readers, period…I've had a blast writing for you guys and the overwhelming amount of support you've given me has been unbelievable. I love you all.

xo - WL


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